


Flashover

by MrPotter



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged Up Characters(17-18), Angst, Anxiety, Depression, F/M, Family Issues, Fire, Identity Reveal, Personal Growth, Plagg is a little shit but he cares, Runaway, Survival, life decisions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-09 12:57:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8891689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrPotter/pseuds/MrPotter
Summary: After years of living in a house and life where he thinks everyone wants him gone, Adrien finally snaps. Unable to cope with himself anymore, he decides to do the one thing he knows people love: become Chat Noir. Doing so exposes him to many different things in the world; new directions for him to take, along with relationships to build. The trick is surviving long enough to make use of the new lessons, especially when the new risk he takes being to run the risk of burning him out.





	1. Breakdown

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo yeah. I had this idea pop into my head while getting ready for the upcoming school semester, and after thinking on it for about a week, I've finally decided to give it a shot with writing it. It's going to be rough around the edges most likely, mostly because I have nobody beta reading this. Open offer: if someone wants to beta read this for some reason, let me know and I'd be more than happy to let you. Anyways, hopefully the writing/story is tolerable. No update schedule will be locked in, but hopefully I'll be getting at least weekly updates out. A more specific schedule will be set once I'm settled back in at school. Anyways, here's the first chapter of Flashover, and happy reading!

He sat on the rooftop, watching the flames leap from the vent holes cut in the roof by the firefighters. Staring with intensity, his tail twitching, Chat Noir kept a careful watch on the entire scene, looking for anything that might go wrong. He knew that nobody was inside the structure(he had risked a sweep before the fire had spread), and now the efforts of the Paris Fire Brigade firefighters were focused on controlling the structure fire. The blue strobe lights on the street continued to flash, lighting up the darkened walls of the buildings in the area with a rhythmic blue light.

Taking another deep breath, Chat could smell the distinct odor of smoke in the air, but couldn’t feel the heat of the fire from his position on the rooftop one building away. He watched as the firefighters began to finish up their exterior attack, slowly putting out the fire like they always did. With a small sigh, Chat stood up and turned away from the fire, running and leaping across the rooftops towards his last stop on this patrol.

As the Agreste Mansion grew larger in his view, Chat let out a sigh, landing a few rooftops short of the building. He stared at the mansion for several moments, his eyes darkening slightly as he prepared himself to return to his house. He knew that he had a busy day coming up, both with school and modeling, but he honestly didn’t want to return to his room just yet. It had been two long years of fighting against Hawkmoth, serving the city as Chat Noir, and Adrien still hated coming in from patrol. He hated losing the freedom and having to return to a life that he had made far too many mistakes in.

Looking around for any excuse to help delay his departure, and seeing none, Chat reluctantly began his movement back towards his house, running and jumping from rooftop to rooftop until he was finally back inside his room. Entering quietly, he dropped his transformation and walked over to his desk, Plagg following behind him, already complaining about the patrol.

“Did we have to stay out for so long?” He whined, zipping over to Adrien’s shoulder and hovering there. “We finished up with Ladybug hours ago and-”

“And I wanted to stay out a little longer.” Adrien shot back, sitting down in the chair with a sigh. “Besides, what’s it to you? You’re going to get your cheese anyways.”

“Yeah, but I could’ve gotten it sooner and gone to sleep sooner if someone hadn’t insisted on staying out.” Plagg shot back, before snatching the cheese from Adrien as he held it up for him. Sighing contentedly, he floated off to rest on the desk, eating the cheese he had been given.

Adrien rolled his eyes and turned to face his computer, glancing at the clock. It was a little past 1 in the morning, and even though he knew he had school tomorrow, he didn’t feel like sleeping just yet. Opening up chrome, he went through the motions of procrastination, trying to find something to help him relax just a little more before he went to sleep.

The next time he checked the clock it was nearly 2:30am, and he knew that regardless of how he felt, he had to at least try to get some sleep. His situation wouldn’t help by being shot for both school and the shoot the next day. With a soft groan, he pushed himself up out of his chair, walked over to his bed, and dropped himself down onto it with a soft thump. Pulling himself under the blankets, Adrien closed his eyes and tried to to go to sleep, trying to ignore the ever present tension in his back and shoulders. Taking a few more breaths to calm himself, Adrien closed his eyes and slipped into an uneasy sleep.

“Adrien, wake up. You need to get moving or you’re going to be late.”

Adrien let out a disgruntled moan as Nathalie’s voice woke him from his slumber. Slowly blinking the sleep from his eyes, he sat up and swung his legs over the edge of his bed, sitting there for a few moments while he tried to wake himself up enough to function.

“Adrien? Are you awake?” He heard Nathalie call as she knocked on his door again, the thumping sound breaking through the fog in his mind as he finished waking himself up.

“Yeah.” He called back, stretching and letting out a yawn. “Yeah, I’m up.” Standing up, he walked over to the bathroom to start his usual morning routine, Plagg still resting on his shoulder, asleep.

Adrien let him sleep as he went through the motions of preparing for another day, mentally bracing himself for another day of dealing with the tasks his father had set for him.

 _Ironic how school is one of the only good things that happens for me._ He thought as he dressed, Plagg stretching and yawning on the dresser as he changed. “Morning” Plagg grumbled out, and Adrien smiled slightly at his Kwami. “Cheese is in the backpack if you want some.” He said, grabbing the bag and slinging it up and onto his shoulder. He paused and waited for Plagg to fly in, and then headed out of his room and down the stairs for breakfast.

Sitting down at the table, he picked at his breakfast, not really hungry. Adrien knew he needed to eat the little food that he was provided, but it wasn’t like it really mattered anyways. With all of the extra activity he participated in, he knew that this meal would basically be like eating nothing anyways.

Looking around, he knew not to let his hopes up, but Adrien wanted to believe that his father would come to breakfast. He knew it was a long shot; his father never wanted to be around him anyways. Adrien just wished he knew what he had done to cause this gap, to figure out what exactly he had done so he could fix it and get his father’s love back. Fighting down his rising anxiety, Adrien focused on going through the motions of eating his meal, trying to keep it hidden from anyone who might notice. The last thing he needed was another lecture.

The ride to school was short and quiet, with Adrien spending most of the time thinking.

 _School, the shoot, dinner, patrol, homework, and then sleep._ He thought as the car paused at a stoplight. _At least the day today should be relatively simple. Maybe I’ll even get a chance to speak to father tonight at dinner, if he’s around._ Just the thought of that chance made him anxious again. Shaking his head to clear it, Adrien felt the car pull to a stop outside the school. Opening up the door and stepping out, he walked up the steps into the school.

Entering the building, he headed over towards his locker, feeling Plagg shift around in the bag on his back. As he unlocked and opened his locker, he heard a familiar voice call out, “Hey Adrien!”

Adrien turned towards the voice, a forced smile on his face as he looked over at his best friend. “Hey there Nino.” He replied, pulling what he needed out of his locker and shutting it with a clang. “How are you doing?”

“Not to bad bro.” Nino said as he fell in step beside Adrien as the duo walked to class. “You sleep alright? You look dead.” He commented as they entered the classroom.

“Just tired today.” Adrien said, looking around the room. He gave Alya and Marinette a small smile as a hello, and was slightly confused when Marinette looked down and away from him. He sighed internally. Ever since the incident they had had on his first day, she had always seemed to want to avoid him. He didn’t blame her.

“Adrikins!”

Adrien and Nino both winced at the high pitched shriek, and Adrien mentally braced himself for an onslaught of Chloe. He went through the motions of dealing with her biting back some of the comments he wanted to make. As much as she could be overwhelming, she really was one of the only people that wanted to be around him, and he didn’t want to lose another person in his life.

After finally escaping Chloe, Adrien sat down next to Nino, and class started for the day. He only half paid attention, occasionally writing notes down in his notebook, but mostly let his mind wander. His thoughts slipped back to the fire the day before, and the pure rush he had felt racing though the building, looking for anyone inside. He knew it had been stupid, and that he should have left the job to just the firefighters, but at the same time he had felt alive. _For the first time in a long time, outside of fighting._

Lunch came sooner rather than later, and Adrien found himself sitting with Nino, Alya, and Marinette, the latter still not looking him in the face or talking directly to him. He figured as much would happen, but it didn’t make it hurt any less.

_I just wish I knew what I had done._

The rest of the day went as fast as the morning had; Adrien sat through class, and once it was over, he said goodbye to his friends and left for the shoot, moving as if he was in a fog. He partially was; most of his actions were calculated to make sure that nothing seemed wrong. His driver made no comment about it to him, so Adrien assumed he was in the clear.

The shoot went by quickly. Adrien did his best, but he could tell that the photographer was frustrated with his performance. It had been like this for nearly two years now. Adrien knew the reason, even if he couldn’t tell anyone. He was just too tired from everything else he had to do, and he honestly didn’t want to keep doing this anymore. The only reason he did was he didn’t know how to tell his father he wanted out. Adrien doubted his father would listen to him anyways, even if he did tell him.

The shoot ended with the photographer muttering something under his breath as he pulled out his phone. Adrien felt a flash of panic, but pushed it down before it got out of hand. It was probably just the frustration from the shoot, and it was the last thing he needed to worry about right now.

Once Adrien was home, he took his stuff up to his room. Sitting down at his desk, he worked on his homework for about an hour before he was called down for dinner. Waking Plagg up from yet another nap, he had him move from his bag to his pocket in case he was needed. Plagg jokingly complained before promptly fell back to sleep, Adrien smiling slightly as he watched him for a few moments before heading downstairs for dinner. Sitting down at the table with Nathalie, looking around for his father. Even though he hadn’t been expecting him to appear, he still felt the pang of disappointment.

“Adrien.” Nathalie began, looking straight into his eyes, her expression emotionless. “There has been a change to your schedule.” Something about the tone in her voice set off alarm bells in Adrien’s head, and he tensed, looking back up at her. “Ok. And that is?” He asked, wondering what adjustment had been made now.

“Well.” She shifted in her seat slightly before continuing. “The photographer called and complained again to your father about your performance.” She sighed. “Given that this has been a recurring pattern since you started going to school, and the performance has been...sub-par for the past two years, your father has decided that the little experiment of you going to public school has run its course.” Adrien’s blood ran cold as she continued. “As such, he has decided to pull you from public school and return you to homeschooling. Your shoot schedule will be adjusted to match, and--”

“Hang on a minute.” Adrien cut in, his voice just scraping the surface of the frustration he felt building. “I get that I haven’t been performing as well as I used to, but has father considered that maybe it’s the fact that I cannot do as many shoots when I’m in school?” He set his fork down on the table, staring at Nathalie. “Maybe we can discuss something along the lines of slowing some of my shoots down.”

The response he got was a shaking head. “He said that would be unacceptable, especially with all of the new lines coming soon. You’re going to be needed to model for the new advertising.”

Adrien snorted. “Of course. It’s all about the money for him isn’t it.” He said, sarcasm dripping of his voice to hide the pain from the remarks from his father. _Am I really just free advertising to him?_

“And then there’s that.” Nathalie continued. “This new attitude that you’ve picked up is entirely unacceptable to your father, and it’s due to those people you call friends. In addition to withdrawing you from school, your father is no longer going to allow you to spend time with them. You need to focus--”

“Hold on!” Adrien almost shouted, getting up to his feet. He felt Plagg jolt slightly in his pocket, trying to get Adrien to calm down, but he ignored him. “He can’t just cut me off from my friends, and neither can you! I’m old enough to make--”

“It doesn’t matter.” Nathalie said, her tone cold and harsh. “You will no longer be spending time with them. They are a bad influence on you, and you need to learn to get control over yourself, according to your father. You’re no good to the company with an attitude like that.”

The pain in Adrien’s chest grew tighter as she said that. _So thats it. I’ve somehow disappointed my father to this. Well...maybe if I can just talk to him, explain the situation…_

“Well, can I atleast speak to my father about this? Maybe I can convince him to let me continue doing something.”

“No. Your father has been out of the country for the past week. We had a call today to discuss this, and he decided that this is for the best.” Nathalie stood up. “Now finish your meal and go get some sleep. Don’t bother with your schoolwork. I’ll be withdrawing you from school next thing tomorrow.” She kept speaking, but Adrien stopped listening. He felt like he had a knife in his chest, his heart racing and his shoulders tight.

 _He doesn’t care. I’ve made him not care. He doesn’t even want to be around me anymore._ Adrien ate his food numbly, finishing his meal and heading up to his room. _He doesn’t want me around._

When he reached his bed, he sat down hard, burying his face in his hands as he tried to stop himself from crying. Plagg flew out of his pocket and hovered by his shoulder.

“Hey, it’s not that bad.” He said, floating just by his ear. “I mean, most kids would love to not have to go to school. No more early morning, no more schoolwork, none of that! And more time for you get me Camembert.”

Something inside Adrien snapped. “No, it’s not alright Plagg.” He snarled. “Nothing. Is. Alright.”

“Hey...kid. It’s really not--”

“Shut up Plagg!” Adrien shouted. “Just... just shut up! You obviously don’t fucking get it! All I had that was mine was my friends and school! And that’s just been taken away from me!” Angry tears filled his eyes, and he blinked them away fiercely. “He controls my life from afar and doesn’t want me around, so what the hell am I supposed to do?” Some of his anger spent, Adrien dropped his face back into his hands, once again struggling to control his emotions.

Plagg blinked twice, considering his next words carefully. “Well...ok. Adrien.” He gently landed on his chosen shoulder, trying to be as comforting as possible. “Ok. This all obviously means a lot to you, and it’s obvious now that you don’t want to be here.” Pausing, Plagg took a slight breath before continuing. “So what do you want to do about it?”

Listening and thinking, Adrien took a few breaths, letting some of his anger bleed off. “Well...nobody wants me around it seems.” He mumbled. “So if that’s the case…” He trailed off, looking up at Plagg, his eyes red. “I want to leave.” He whispered. “I want to leave and just stay gone. It’ll make everyone happier in the long run.” Looking back down, he took another breath. “But I know you won’t let me transform for selfish reasons, and that’s the only way to make something like this work. I’d need to be Chat Noir for the majority of the time, otherwise they’d just track me down and find me.”

Plagg looked at his chosen. He knew they had only scratched the surface of Adrien’s feelings, and Plagg hadn’t known just how broken he was. He knew that all his cats struggled with something; it’s what let them channel their power so well. Adrien, however, was more broken than others, and Plagg wanted to help him. “Then let’s do it.” he said.

Adrien looked up at Plagg, his eyes wide. “Uh...what?”

Plagg rolled his eyes. “Did I stutter?” He asked, smiling slightly at Adrien. “Grab what you need, transform, and let’s get out of here. We can find a place to hole up and figure things out Adrien, but you need to get out of here right now. This place has eaten at you for years; it’s time for you to get out.”

Adrien stared at Plagg for nearly a minute, a small half hearted smile creeping onto his place. “Plagg...you are paws-atively awesome.” He said, standing up and beginning to throw some things into his backpack.

Plagg groaned. “Don’t start with the puns. Not right after all that emotional stuff.”

Adrien let out a short laugh, and then turned to finish packing up. As soon as he finished, he stood and looked over at Plagg. “Ready?”

Plagg nodded in response.

“Plagg, transform me.”

There was a flash of light, and when it faded Chat Noir stood where Adrien had been a moment before. Slinging his backpack up and onto his shoulder, Chat jumped out the window and went running across the rooftops, feeling the wind flow against his face. One of the only ways he could feel alive.

After a short patrol, Chat found himself an abandoned building to sleep in for the night. Settling into the rafters, he fell asleep, still transformed, wondering if anybody would even notice if he had disappeared. If his father or anyone else would even care. Thinking about it, he fell into a restless sleep.

A week later, Adrien Agreste was declared missing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, Happy Holidays to everyone! Hopefully everyone's holiday season is going well. This chapter was written in what little spare time that I've been able to snag, so apologies in advance if it seems rushed or poorly written. I'll be going back though it to edit it at some point, but I figured that since it still is technically Christmas in my time zone, I'd post it now for everyone to enjoy over the next few days.
> 
> Second: Thank you to everyone who has read this, left kudos, or commented - thank you, so so much. This idea quite literally was something that I'm writing to just get out of my head, because the idea was there and sometimes they just need to be written. It's going to be split two-fold, and it's going to develop the characters in a way that may or may not have been done before, so hopefully some of the changes don't bother to many people. This chapter in particular might be a little forced, but it's somewhat reliant on character development that hasn't happened in the cannon or in this story, mostly because of the several years that are just straight up missing. If anyone is interested in knowing some of the details before they make it into the story, just let me know, and I'll be more than happy to share them.
> 
> Now that that's out of the way, I hope everyone enjoys this second(still un-named) chapter!

Adrien shivered. “I think we may have underestimated some of this weather” He mumbled to his Kwami, his shoulder muscles tight.

“Don’t you try and ‘we’ this.” Plagg shot back, shivering as well. “This one was all you. You should’ve at least brought more than just a change of clothes in a backpack. At the very minimum a heavy jacket would’ve been a good idea.”

Adrien let out a small sigh, but he knew that Plagg was right. It was his fault they had been so unprepared. He had jumped at the chance to leave, and now they were both paying for it.

_That’s it. Today we’re going into town, no matter the risk, and buying some of the stuff we’re missing._

Leaning back against the wall of the room, Adrien glanced around, watching the dust slip though the streams of light that entered from the window. Glancing down at his watch, he knew that they had about thirty minutes or so before the shops would be open for the weekend, and he had some decisions to make. Namely, what he needed to buy. And what we want for breakfast. He thought as a low gurgle filled the room, coming from his stomach.

Standing up with a yawn and a stretch, Adrien tossed his blanket aside into the corner of the room. He took a few steps to the other wall, and opened up his backpack, ensuring he still had the money he had taken out before finding his little hideout that he had been spending the past week living out of. The building had an old, musty smell, but nobody had come by to check it out all week, and the rest of the traffic in the area was slow enough that he had no issue getting in or out as Chat Noir.

Looking out the slightly frosted window, Adrien watched the section of Paris he was in sputter to life on yet another dreary Saturday morning. The sudden cold weather of the past week had kept many people inside in the mornings, but a stubborn few continued their normal morning rituals as though nothing was different with the world. Shivering, Adrien threw on the light jacket that he had brought with him when he had left, mentally berating himself.

_How was I supposed to know that the temperature would drop so suddenly. It’s only a cold spell, but still. If it’s getting this cold now, we need to get ready for when it gets this cold and stays this cold._

Making sure his bag was packed and ready, Adrien looked over to Plagg, who had floated over to the opposite edge of the table and was slowly munching on his breakfast. “You ready? We have to go into town today, and I’d rather get this part over with sooner rather than later.”

A low groan answered his question, but a few moments later Plagg floated up and over to Adrien’s shoulder. “Yeah...let’s do this.” He mumbled, still half asleep.

Adrien smiled slightly at his Kwami’s voice, before wiping it off his face and getting serious once again. “Plagg, claws out.”

In the flash of light, Adrien transformed into Chat Noir. Bounding out through the window at the backside of the building, he began jumping across the rooftops, heading towards his destination.

He had only been travelling for a few minutes before he stopped to observe the area, and amazingly sweet smell filled the air. Taking a few breaths, he was able to identify the vanilla, cinnamon, and other smells that only would come from a bakery. Chat felt his mouth water at the smell and he tried to push down his rising hunger.

_I’ve gotta focus on what we need to buy first. Besides, I can’t afford to eat like-_ Chat cut off the chain of thought as he felt his stomach gurgled in protest. _Screw it. Not like it matters anymore. Nobody is going to care anyways._

Jumping down off the roof, Chat landed quietly, but still with enough noise to alert several nearby civilians. Smiling and nodding politely at their shocked expressions, he turned towards the source of the smell, not surprised to find himself standing outside the Dupian-Cheng’s bakery. He had been there several times before, both as Chat and as Adrien.

_Maybe Marinette...nah, I doubt it._ Shaking his head slightly, Chat opened the door and entered the bakery, letting the door swing shut gently.

“Hello, welcome too -- Chat Noir!” Sabine said with surprise, her eyes widening. “Is there something wrong? Oh, is Marinette ok? Did something happen?” She rushed out, some panic bleeding into her voice.

Chat quickly put his hands up, shaking his head. “No, no, everything's fine.” He said calmly, his own tension spiking at her reaction, but he kept it hidden to avoid further upsetting her. “I was just out this morning on patrol, and, well...I haven’t had any breakfast yet.” He said with a small smile, trying to be as soothing as he could.

Sabine’s face changed in an instant from surprise to something more motherly. “You mean to tell me that you’ve been out and running around and haven’t had anything to eat yet?” She asked carefully, giving Chat a look that he knew was meant to scold him.

It worked. Chat looked down lightly, hiding his eyes from her. “Well...um...yeah.” He admitted, looking back up at her. “It sorta slipped my mind. I could smell the bakery and I sorta was hoping to get something to eat.”

The smile on her face said plenty. “Of course.” Sabine said, gesturing for him to walk over to her. He obliged, moving over to the display and looking at all of the options there. The smell made his stomach grumble again, and he flushed slightly at Sabine’s knowing smile. 

Chat selected several croissants, and reached back into his bag, pulling out his money. He waved off Sabine’s attempts to just give him the food for free, insisting on paying. After a short debate, she finally accepted the money, even if it was reluctantly. Chat waved goodbye to her as he left the bakery, and he jumped up onto the rooftops, running until he had lost the majority of the people who had been gawking and taking pictures of him buying his food.

_That should get them some decent publicity, even more than they already have. They certainly deserve it with this level of quality._

Sitting down and laying back on a rooftop, Chat made sure he wasn’t visible to anyone on the ground, beginning to eat his breakfast. He ate slowly, just letting the sounds of the Paris morning wash over him as he enjoyed his food. Once he finished, Chat stood and went running across the rooftops towards his next stop.

The feeling of wind on his face as he ran was relaxing. Chat smiled into the wind, even as the speed made his eyes water. It felt good to be running, wild and free, across the rooftops. It made him feel alive. More than anything else he did, moments like this made him want to stick around, just so he could keep being Chat Noir.

Once Chat reached his destination, he jumped off the rooftops and landed on the sidewalk, strolling into the mall as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on. He ignored most of the surprised looks of everyone around him, and tried to brush off all of the people quickly pulling out phones and taking pictures.

_Just grab the stuff and go. All I need is a heavier coat for the winter. In, out, avoid conversation as best as possible. Don't let anyone see that anything is wrong._

With that thought in mind, Chat walked through the stroke and bound up the escalator two steps at a time, slipping past people with ease, trying to blend in without being obvious about it.

Once he reached the second floor, he turned and headed towards a store he knew would sell the kinds of clothing he would needed. As he turned to enter it, however, something caught his attention.

“Chat Noir!”

Turning towards the familiar voice, Chat saw Alya running towards him, excitement radiating from her, with Marinette in tow. He noticed that Marinette seemed a little downcast, and he felt a slight tinge of worry. Keeping his expression light and carefree, he looked back to Alya. “And how may I help you today my fine reporter?” He asked, sweeping into a graceful joking bow.

Alya grinned up at him, her eyes wide with excitement. Chat watched as Marinette hung back slightly, but still stayed close to Alya, watching the conversation closely. “What are you doing here?” She asked, looking around. “Is there an Akuma or something?”

Chat smiled slightly and shook his head. “Nope. I’m just here to purchase some things that I need, and it was just easier for me to get here like this, rather than as my civilian self.” He replied, walking into the store and heading straight for the coats there. The two girls followed him in. He looked back at the duo, both seeming to be slightly confused. “It’s easier for you to do this as Chat Noir?” Alya asked.

“It’s certainly more fun.” Chat said with a grin, looking at the different coats and trying to find one in his size that also had some decent pockets for Plagg. Alya laughed a bit at the reply, but Marinette seemed to be a little more stone-faced. Chat winced internally; he always knew that he had some sort of effect on Marinette as Adrien, but did she also not like Chat Noir? He assumed that he bothered her somehow, but his interaction with her as Chat had been minimal at best, compared to the time that he had known her.

_Not like I can blame her if she doesn’t._

“So what are you here for then? Do you do stuff like this often? Does Ladybug know that you’re out doing this?” Alya kept rattling off questions back to back, and Chat finally held up his hands in surrender, laughing a bit at her enthusiasm, but the laughter was sightly forced.

“Right now, I’m here for a coat. As for the rest of your questions, No, Ladybug doesn’t know, and if I haven’t been seen doing this before how often do you think I do it?” He selected a coat off the rack and tried it on. It fit well and seemed warm enough, so he pulled it off and began to carry it up to the register. “I’m paws-ative that someone would have noticed me doing something like this before.” He said, winking at the duo to keep up his image. Alya groaned at the pun, and Marinette just rolled her eyes, but it still lifted Chat’s spirits slightly.

“Ok, true. I know I would’ve noticed if you’d done this before.” Alya acknowledged, following Chat as he paid at the register and began to walk out of the mall. “But is there any particular reason that you’re doing this errand today as Chat Noir?”

“Like I told you, it’s more fun.” He replied as he walked outside into the cold morning air. He watched the two shiver slightly as the cold bit into them more than it did himself. “Purr-haps you two should go back inside.” He said gently, nodding at the mall doors.” It is quite chilly outside, and I must be on my way. It’s about that time for my cat-nap.” He smiled at his own puns, and crouched slightly, getting ready to jump for the nearest rooftop.

“Wait!” Alya called, and Chat paused, looking over at her. “On a more serious note, is everything ok?” She asked, giving him a look. “I’ve been getting tons of submissions of you being out and about more and more over the past week, yet there has been no Ladybug sighting at all. Did something happen to her?” She asked, concern evident in her voice.

“I’m happy to report that, as far as I know, Ladybug is perfectly fine.” Chat replied, glancing up to make sure that the rooftop he was aiming for was clear. He was grateful that Alya was concerned about his lady; she was the one who Paris relied on to restore any damage done. It made sense for them to worry more about here, but it didn't make the pang in his chest any less obvious to himself. “But for now, I must be on my way.” He grinned one last time at the duo, glancing them over. Alya’s eyes were still wide with excitement, but Marinette’s gaze was more calculating than anything. With a nod, he launched himself up onto the rooftop and then took of running, making sure to lose anyone watching him before heading to his hideout.

After reaching his hideout, Chat de-transformed, letting Plagg out to eat more of his cheese and rest from the activity. Pulling on the new coat, Adrien was pleased to find that it fit perfectly. “Hopefully this will help us out a little more as it gets colder.” He said to Plagg, who grunted his agreement around a mouthful of cheese.

Adrien sat down against the wall, looking out the window that overlooked the street, and just watched people pass by. Plagg eventually joined him, floating into a pocket of the coat and curling up inside it. As the sun rose higher, the light began to filter through the window at just the right angle, warming the spot where Adrien was sitting. Eventually, he closed his eyes for a few seconds, just enjoying the pleasant warmth that countered the cold of the morning.

The first thing Adrien noticed as he was jolted awake was the blaring of emergency sirens on the street he was on. Blinking his eyes rapidly to clear the sleep from them, he frantically shook Plagg awake as blue light shone through the window.

The next thing he noticed was the overwhelming smell of smoke. Sitting up and looking out the window, Adrien saw that the apartment across the street was burning, flames leaping out of a broken window on the third floor. A single fire engine had arrived, and he could see firefighters moving around frantically, some pointing up at the building. As Plagg joined him in looking out the window, he let out a sharp gasp, and Adrien looked back up at the building. A deep chill gripped his chest as he realized what all the firefighters had been pointing at.

Standing in the window just next to the one spewing smoke and fire was a young boy, no older than 6 years old, terror evident on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, like I said in the beginning notes, some of that might have been a bit forced and reliant on as-of-yet described events, but I promise I'll do my best to clarify why everything happens the way it does during the story as it progresses. Hopefully that works out in the long run, but if it doesn't, I'll find a way to get some sort of story or list of information to help explain why some things end up going the way that they do.
> 
> For now though, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, and as always, happy reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Another week, another chapter. Let me say happy new years in advance, as today is the 31st. Notes might be a little strange, as I'm writing them after a night of pretty much no sleep and posting in the AM, so I apologize if this rambles on a bit.
> 
> Thank you once again to those of you who have left any form of feedback at all. Several comments have actually gotten me to re-assess some of my own thought process, as I have to ask questions that I haven't thought of myself, which has, in my opinion, improved the story quality. Like I said previously(I think), some things will reference non-cannon events, as there is a gap, but hopefully it will all be explained in time via the story. If not, I promise I'll explain it in a note, or answer any questions asked in the comments with the answer, if it's not explained in the story.
> 
> Outside that, I'm going to go and try and get some sleep, so I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and as always, happy reading!

Adrien sat there for a moment, frozen in shock. As he watched, stunned, he watched the flicker of the flames reflect off the window, as the smoke began to further obscure his view of the child. As more and more sirens began to draw closer, he finally began to draw his thoughts together into a coherent form.

_This is not good. One engine down there but no ladder, so that means they have to go up several flights of stairs, and they don’t even have the manpower to do that._

Adrien began to push himself up to his feet. “Plagg...Plagg, we have to do something.” He managed to get out, still surveying the scene, but slowly realizing that there was nothing anyone else could do to help. The fire was clearly spreading throughout the floor, and the kid was still in the building.

“What do you suggest we do, Adrien.” He turned towards the serious voice, looking into Plagg’s eyes. “What can we do.” He looked back out at the burning building. “You don’t know what you’re doing in this kind of environment, and it’s not safe.”

“Not...safe?” Adrien replied, his voice low. “Nothing I do is ever safe Plagg. You know that.” Looking back out at the burning building, he felt his resolve harden. “That child needs some help, and right now, I’m the only one who can provide it.” He looked back as his Kwami, who had a resigned look on his face. “Besides, if anything happens to me, you can get a new holder. You’re basically a god; a little fire won’t kill you.” He turned and started running towards the back exit, cutting Plagg’s next words off with the command to transform.

Chat Noir jumped out the rear exit of the building, and then up and onto the roof. Sprinting back over to the side exposed to the street, he paused on the edge of the roof, surveying the situation.

There was still only a single engine on scene, with firefighters hastily preparing their equipment. Looking back up at the window, Chat tensed up, as his view was obscured by fire and smoke that was billowing out of the broken window.

_This is gonna suck._

Jumping across to the next rooftop, and ignoring the surprised shouts from below, Chat quickly dropped down onto an overhang that was right by the window he had seen the child in. Holding his breath to avoid breathing the smoke, he narrowed his eyes, trying to peer through his teary eyes to see into the building. Unable to see the child inside, but not seeing any fire inside the room, Chat assumed that the kid was still in the room.

Reaching back, Chat swung his baton as hard as he could, shattering the window with a loud crash. Swinging himself up and into the room, his lungs starting to ache slightly from holding his breath, he landed in the room, blinking his eyes to try and clear them as he looked around.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to search for long. As the ache in his chest grew worse, Chat spotted the terrified child cowering in the corner, as far from the door and the window as he could get. Moving swiftly, Chat scooped the child up, very aware of the pain in his chest. He exhaled, trying to relieve some of the pressure as he carried the child over to the window he had broken, staying low to avoid the smoke that was filling the room, the unpleasant heat making him sweat slightly.

As Chat made for the window, he found himself unable to hold his breath any longer, sucking in the heated and smoky air, coughing almost immediately. He stumbled slightly, and the boy cried out in fear as they bounced off the wall just next to the window, before starting to cough as well. After coughing for a few more seconds, unable to move, Chat finally forced his himself out the window feet first, holding the boy to his chest as tightly as he could. Using his baton to brace his landing, he quickly dropped their height, letting the baton slow their impact, but not enough to prevent a rough landing.

As soon as they hit the ground, Chat felt himself fall to his knees, still coughing and sucking down the clean air. He heard people yelling out, and footsteps rushed over to him. Blinking the tears from his eyes, he managed to get a breath down and hold it for a few seconds before coughing again. One firefighter grabbed the child and carried him over towards a waiting ambulance, while a second helped Chat up to his feet and began to half walk, half drag him over towards another one.

“Get me some O2!” The man yelled, his voice muffled by the mask that was over his face, as he helped Chat over to and sit alongside the ambulance. Slowly catching his breath, Chat accepted the oxygen mask that was handed to him, greedily sucking down air and triggering another coughing attack for his effort.

“Breath normally.” He heard a new voice say, as the firefighter who had helped him stood up and moved back over towards the incident. Chat sat there and focused on his breathing while the paramedics did their assessment, slowly feeling himself return to normal. He could smell the smoke in the air, but was unable to tell if it was from himself or from the fire scene.

After several minutes of sitting there and catching his breath, Chat felt a little better. Looking up at the two paramedics, he nodded his gratitude. “Thanks.”

“No problem. But what you did there was stupid, Chat Noir.” One of the two said, his voice serious as he locked eyes with the superhero. “Obviously you have to breath like the rest of us. You shouldn’t have done any of that. It was reckless and dangerous.”

Looking around the scene, Chat noticed the boy, also breathing oxygen, sitting with what appeared to be his family. His mother was clutching him tight, rocking him gently, while his father stood nearby, the relief clear on his face. Chat watched for a moment, and felt a pang of jealousy. He pushed it down quickly, and stood up suddenly, shooting the surprised paramedics a cocky grin.

“You’ve seen me fight. I’m paws-ative that I’ve done things that are far more dangerous.” He dropped the oxygen mask and pulled his baton out, holding it ready to boost himself up into the air and depart. “Thanks for the help, but I’m feline fine now, so I’ll be on my way.” He said with a grin, and then took two steps before jumping into the air, using his baton to boost his jump so he landed on a nearby rooftop. He heard someone call after him, but ignored it, opting to run across the rooftops in a direction away from his hiding place.

After finding a different abandoned building, Chat sat down in the rafters, releasing his transformation with a sigh. He leaned back as he de-transformed, slightly nervous about how angry Plagg was likely about to be, but also worried that he might not even care.

Plagg started ranting as soon as he got out of the ring, and Adrien felt his heart sink as soon as he started. 

“Don’t you EVER do anything like that again, you hear me!” Plagg yelled, flying right up into Adrien’s face, shaking with fury and relief. Adrien shifted back away slightly, his nerves getting the best of him as his Kwami went on his rant. “That was reckless, dangerous, and stupid! Let me remind you that while Ladybug can fix things when you’re fighting Akumas, she cannot fix you when she isn’t there and it’s not the fault of a miraculous!” Plagg began pacing in the air, flying quickly back and forth, and he didn’t notice as Adrien looked down and away. “You could have DIED in there, Adrien. Died.” He said, stopping his pacing to look at Adrien, who had looked back up, his face a mask. “And I’m not in the business of killing off my Black Cats.”

“So what was I supposed to do.” Adrien replied, mostly concealing the bitterness in his voice. “Just let that boy die?” He thought back to the image of the boy’s family, once again feeling that same jealous pang. “How would his family have taken that? What about all the people who care about him, huh?” Fighting down a surge of anger, Adrien locked eyes with Plagg. “I know it was reckless. I know it was dangerous. But I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing Plagg. I had to do something.”

He watched Plagg sit there for a few seconds, thinking, and then the Kwami let out a sigh and slowly floated over to his shoulder. “I know.” Plagg relented, plopping himself down onto Adrien’s shoulder. “Just...let’s not do something like that again, alright? Ladybug can normally fix anything that happens, but in a case like that, there is nothing she can do.”

Closing his eyes, Adrien rested his head against the beam he was leaning against. “I know. It was stupid and reckless, and I shouldn’t have done it. But I wasn’t leaving that kid in there to die.” He sighed. “We’ll go back in a few hours and grab the stuff. After a fire there, we need to relocate. People might start asking questions.”

“Yeah.” He heard Plagg murmur in response. “But till then..sleep.” Adrien cracked a smile at his tone, letting Plagg drift off to sleep on his shoulder as he began to lose himself in his thoughts.  
Adrien knew that what he had done was dangerous, but he also knew that he would’ve traded his life for that boy’s in a second. After seeing the the boy’s family, he knew that he had made the right decision.

_His mother and father alone would’ve been devastated if he had died. The rest of his family would’ve been destroyed._

Adrien knew that he wasn’t totally alone; Plagg seemed to care somewhat, but Adrien honestly wasn’t sure if it was just because he was Chat Noir. For all he knew, Plagg might not want to have to go find a new charge. Adrien just didn’t know, and he didn’t want to ask either. He didn’t admit it to himself, but he was honestly scared of the answer. He was scared that Plagg simply didn’t want him hurt or gone because it would mean more work for him. He knew it wasn’t totally logical, but at the same time, his father had done the same exact thing to him. 

He thought about Ladybug and their relationship as well. Obviously she might be shaken up if he was gone, but he knew that she was the stronger of the two of them, and that she would adapt well to any partner she fought alongside. Sure, she sometimes bantered with him, but she mostly wanted their relationship to be professional, and never wanted to exchange any information about their civilian lives. She hadn’t changed her stance on it since the beginning, and Adrien wasn’t going to force her hand. If she didn’t want to get to know him any further than she already did, he wasn’t the one to force her.

_Besides, it’s not like she would want to know me._ He thought, his own thoughts condescending. _I wouldn’t want to get to know me either. I’m not much use to anyone like this. As Chat I’m at least somewhat useful, and if that’s how she knows me, that’s how she knows me._

Adrien’s thoughts transitioned to the people he knew from school. He called them friends, but as far as he knew only one or two of them really returned that sentiment. Chloe just used him to up her own status, and as much as they had been childhood friends, Adrien felt more hurt by that than anything else. Whatever friendship they had had ended up spoiled over time, and he wasn’t sure he could get any of it back. He knew that she was surely lamenting his disappearance, but it was most likely to just herself attention, and not out of real worry for him. Hell, she probably thought it was a publicity stunt. In her circles, it wouldn’t be the first time someone had done something like that.

He knew that Alya might be worried about him. She was Nino’s girlfriend, after all, and she would probably be worried just because of how he and Nino were. She might not consider Adrien a good friend, even though he considered her one, but she was somebody that would at least likely notice that he was gone. He had noted that she hadn’t asked about Adrien during her impromptu interview with him earlier that day, but there was always the possibility that it had either slipped her mind, or had been something that she just didn’t consider worth of asking a superhero. He wasn’t sure how he should feel about that. He wanted her to care, but at the same time, he didn’t want to be a burden to her. He had tried to do as much as he could to help her when he could, but it had always been more as Chat, rather than Adrien. At the very least, she hadn’t used him like his father did; everything he had done to help her had been voluntary and as a friend, rather than as a son or employee to generate a profit.

Marinette probably had noticed his disappearance, and he figured that she would be concerned. It was her nature to care about people. Over the years he had known her, that had always been one constant. She always went out of her way to make everyone else always feel welcome and involved. 

_Everyone except me. For some reason, she always seemed distant from me._

Push the thoughts aside, Adrien kept assessing the situation. While Marinette might not be a good friend personally, he was sure she would at least care. He hoped she would.

Lastly, Adrien knew that Nino was probably sick with worry. He was his best friend, after all. At least, he thought they were, but he had never asked, so he wasn’t totally sure. He felt a small surge of anxiety as he thought about the possibility that Nino might be happier with him gone, but he fought it back down.

_No. For crying out loud, the guy’s been akumatized because he couldn’t get me a birthday party. If he cared that much, he obviously is my best friend._

Adrien felt bad that he had left his best friend without even leaving a note. It was one of the things he regretted the most about disappearing like he had, and he still had no idea how to rectify the situation. If he approached Nino as Chat Noir, he was likely to ask questions that Adrien couldn’t answer, or would give him away. If he approached him as Adrien, then he might get caught and taken back to his father, and as much as it hurt leaving him in the dark, Adrien couldn’t risk that. He knew that if he went back, he wouldn’t survive.

_I’ll figure something out._

Pulling out a notebook, Adrien began to doodle aimlessly, taking care to make sure that he didn’t lose his balance up in the rafters of the building. He liked heights, ever more than he did before becoming Chat, but he knew that unsecured as he was, losing his balance would likely result in several broken bones or death.

_Not like it’s a bad thing._

Several hours later, Plagg was rested and fed, and the setting sun was the sign that it was time to go back and grab the stuff.

“Any ideas on where we should spend the night tonight?” Adrien asked as he stretched, getting ready to transform and head across the city.  
“I got nothing.” Plagg replied, floating in front of Adrien, a strange expression on his face. He seemed lost in thought, but Adrien brushed it aside. It wasn’t his place to question Plagg’s motivations.

“We’ll find a place then I guess.” Adrien said, trying to project a confidence that he didn’t feel. “Ready?”

Plagg nodded in response. 

“Plagg, transform me.” Adrien said, and in a flash of light, he changed from Adrien to Chat Noir. Exiting the building and running across the rooftops toward his old hideout, Chat felt free again. He hated being cooped up all day inside, but after the events of the day, he knew that he wouldn’t have had a moment to himself had he been out in public.

Moving quickly, Chat reached the old warehouse where he had been staying, and quickly gathered his stuff up into his backpack. Swinging it up and onto his back, he jumped out onto the roof to survey the area.

The sun was setting to the west, lighting up the skyline in a soft, fire like glow. Chat shivered slightly as a chilly wind blew across the rooftops. Looking across the city he had agreed to protect, Chat couldn’t help but feel a small sense of satisfaction at the beauty. There had been no akuma attacks in the last week, which was a long lull, but at the very least it meant that it was peaceful for the citizens of Paris. After watching for a few minutes, Chat bound off across the rooftops, starting his patrol for the evening.

He had only been out for a few minutes before he spotted a flash of red, sprinting across the rooftops adjacent to him. Trying to stop himself, he slipped, sliding with a yelp and a loud thump into the ledge of the rooftop.

Shaking his head to clear it, he sat up with a groan, just in time to see Ladybug swing over from her rooftop and land on the ledge, standing over him. “Chat?” She asked, slight surprise in her voice. “What’re you doing out here?”

“Well, hello there, my Lady.” Chat said, trying to act somewhat cool while recovering from the slip. He couldn’t help but laugh slightly at his mishap. “It seems that I’m still falling for you.”

Ladybug shook her head slightly, and Chat internally winced. That one hadn’t gone over very well. “To answer your question, I’m just out on patrol today. Not scheduled, I know, but nothing wrong with just getting out and looking around a bit, right?”

“Look, Chat.” Ladybug began, her voice tense. “Right now, I just want to know if you’ve seen anything out of the ordinary today. Especially related to Adrien being missing.”

Chat winced slightly at that, shifting himself slightly away from Ladybug as she spoke, hiding his slight guilt, but she had already turned around and was surveying the city and didn’t notice. “Normally I’d also want to ask you what you were thinking, going around randomly as a Chat Noir, but right now we have more important things to worry about. Like finding someone who’s missing.”

Chat didn’t respond immediately. He stood there, processing what Ladybug had said. He was glad that she was worried about his safety, but at the same time he was hurt that she would push down any other questions she might want to ask him just because Adrien was missing. 

_Not like she knows that I’m Adrien, but still._

“Well...sorry if that bothered you.” He finally replied, keeping his voice somewhat jovial to mask the nervousness he was feeling. He could feel his thoughts beginning to blur together as his anxiety built. He didn’t want Ladybug to find him. He didn’t want to go back. He couldn’t go back there. Not to that house. Not that place. Not again.

He didn’t hear her response as he struggled to calm his own thoughts. Taking a few breaths, forcing himself to breath normally, he managed to slow his thoughts back down to something that he could control. Chat was grateful that it hadn’t turned into a full blown attack, as he knew that he wouldn’t have been able to explain that one to Ladybug.

_The last thing she needs to be worrying about is her partner. Even if I do annoy her more than help._

“Chat?”

With a slight start, Chat looked up and locked eyes with Ladybug, who was glaring at him. “Umm...sorry, what’d you just say?” He asked sheepishly.

“I said that we need to figure out our search plan.” She replied, her foot tapping slightly. “We’ve got a large city to cover, and with Adrien having been missing for apparently an entire week, we have to get started. He could be gone from the city by now!”

Chat could hear the impatience in her voice. He knew she was clearly agitated, more-so than just someone who was doing their job. Perhaps she knew Adrien from somewhere?

“Well, where have you looked already?” he asked, automatically dismissing the thought as he had it. He was sure that Ladybug wasn’t Chloe or Alya, and those were really the only two people that he figured would care if he went missing. Marinette might care, but she wasn’t Ladybug. Sure, they looked somewhat alike, but it was the personality that made the person, not the looks, and they just weren’t alike in any way. She had her moments, but she didn’t project the daily confidence that Ladybug did.  
“I’ve done most of the normal patrol routes. I’ve debated starting to look in the more remote areas of the city, just because if someone wanted to hide somebody, that’d be the simplest place to go.”

He froze. Chat knew that he couldn’t let her start looking like that. She was right; it was the simplest place for him to go to hide. He just wasn’t being hidden by someone, but rather hiding from someone.

“I honestly haven’t been following the news much.” He admitted, shifting his weight. “Has anyone claimed any responsibility or made any demands yet? Like a ransom or something?”

She shook her head. “No, nothing. When I first heard, it was just a rumor racing around, but after the last time I thought he went missing…” She trailed off, a slight flush, and Adrien remembered just how interesting that Christmas had been. He had almost forgotten just how upset she had been, and he had spent far too much time trying to figure out who she had been after that. Before everything else with his father had gone downhill. “Anyways, I didn’t want a repeat of that incident. There was a new release tonight though, with the police releasing a statement and everything, so once I heard that I knew we needed to start looking. He could be hurt or in danger, especially with Hawkmoth out there. It’s also strange that this happens right at the same time as a lull in the akuma attacks. It worries me.”

Chat nodded a few times, thinking his response over carefully.

_Don’t mess this up, Agreste._

“I mean...sure, it’s strange. I’ve been wondering myself what’s going on with the attack lull, and that is something we need to investigate. I know you want to go looking for Adrien, and sure, we should help, but maybe we should wait a bit before getting involved.” He paused, noticing he still had her attention, and continued, “After all, there hasn’t been any demands yet. If there was a kidnapping, that’d be one of the first things to happen, right? Based on that, it’s possible that...well, he might have decided to...leave?” He phrased his statement as a question, but prayed that she might think about it and see his side of the issue.

“Adrien? Run away?” She shook her head slightly. “I don’t think it all bothers him that much. I’ve seen him before; he always seems so happy with everything.”

Chat sighed internally. He was glad to know that his acting was good enough to keep most people from seeing just how upset he was, but he knew that he had to find a way to dissuade her, and quickly. “Have you ever directly asked him?”

She paused, and then slowly shook her head. “No...I haven’t…” she trailed off, then suddenly locked eyes with Chat, her eyes narrowing. “Wait a minute. Have you?”

Chat’s eyes widened slightly as he took a step back. “Umm…” _Busted._ “Ok, I’ll admit that I’ve spoken to him before, but it was awhile ago.” He lied, trying to keep his expression from betraying his lie. “We talked for a bit, but after that I didn’t speak to him again. Just...in the conversation we had, he admitted that he didn’t have the best home life, and that he sometimes wished he could just get away from it all.” he said, looking over the city before returning his gaze to his lady. “Just something to think on before we go rushing off searching for him, you know?”

Her eyes stayed locked on his, and Chat didn’t move, trying to not let her call his bluff. After nearly a minute, Ladybug finally sighed and relaxed her stare, not noticing Chat’s slight sigh of relief.

“Alright. We’ll do a normal patrol for now, and if we see anything strange, we will check it out.” She said, stepping up onto the ledge, as Chat followed with a ghost of a smile on his face. He had convinced her.

“But.” She continued, and Chat listened intently, copying her stance. “If he’s still missing in another week, we’re going looking for him, and that’s the end of the discussion.” She paused again, looking over Chat again. “And what’s with the backpack?”

“Sounds fair to me, my Lady.” Chat replied smoothly, but his mind and heart were racing as they started off on their patrol. “As for that, I had to run some errands all day, and I’ve also been stuck working on this school paper all week. I figured doing a quick patrol before heading home wouldn’t do any harm.”

Ladybug smiled. “Tell me about it. I’ve been stuck doing essays all week.” She continued, Chat paying half attention to her talking, the other half of his mind thinking out his next excuse.

_Least I bought myself some time._ He thought, as he jumped from one rooftop to another. 

_But now I have to figure out how to stop her from looking at all._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, to clarify something from early in the chapter:  
> Adrien makes the decision to enter the building because he knows that the firefighers, at that point in time, won't. The logic behind this is that Adrien has, after being Chat Noir for several years, started to watch and learn how emergency services work, simply though interactions over time. I'm assuming that he would render assistance at other incidents, so after awhile of just watching, he would be smart enough to notice patterns. One of those patters would be firefighters not entering a structure without having at least two apparatus on scene. That there is what promotes his decision making process the way the chapter flows.
> 
> I don't live in France, and I don't know for a fact how French firefighting works outside of some research I've done into how the department is structured. As such, I'm not 100% sure on the tactics used there. As such, I'm making the the leap(based on more research) that they would function somewhat similarly to their American counterparts, and I'm going from there with it. If anyone can provide more accurate details(I.E. living in France/working in French Fire-Emergency Services) please let me know, because I would love to meet that kind of accuracy.
> 
> Hopefully everyone enjoyed the chapter, and as always, happy reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I apologize for the lack of chapter over the past week or so. To make a long story short, I had some commitments that got suddenly extended from 2 days to 4 days, and then this past week was my first week back at college, and the past few days have had me going to math class once, and my fire class twice, and I've had literally no time to write between class and trying to be a responsible student. Now that I'm actually where I need to be with everything, I have time to write again, even if it is just for a little bit. That's also why this chapter is so short; I'm dead tired right now, but I wanted to finish this off and post it. This weekend might also see another chapter, depending on how I'm feeling, so we will have to see how this week goes.
> 
> Also, sorry about how short this chapter is. Seriously, I feel bad about the delay and then a short chapter, but I'll try and make up for it with the one after this.

Chat stretched and groaned softly as he woke up and swung his feet off the bench he had been sleeping on, feeling tight muscles loosen slightly at his movement. Looking around the park, he was once again grateful for his night vision, as it was pitch black out, typical for the hour he was getting up at.

_Hopefully today I’ll find a new place to stay._

Looking around again to make sure that he was alone, Chat jumped up onto a nearby rooftop and began to run his normal morning patrol. Over the past several days, he had started running both morning and evening patrols, with the occasional presence as Chat Noir in public, sleeping wherever he could at night. Alya had been ecstatic at the sightings, but Chat hadn’t spoken to her since the last ‘interview’ he had let her do. He wasn’t sure if she had started to expand her thinking, but he knew that he wouldn’t be surprised if she just kept focusing on her current train of thought, which was that Chat was playing bait for Hawkmoth, with Ladybug waiting in ambush. Chat wasn’t going to discredit the idea.

Making his way towards Nino’s house, Chat felt guilt settle in his chest. He knew that he owed Nino a major explanation, as soon as he could figure out how to do it safely. He missed Nino, and he was pretty sure that Nino missed having him around, but he also didn’t want to explain though something impersonal.

_After all this, I owe him a real explanation. I could try visiting as Chat...but I’d have to find a way to force him to not share the news with anyone._

By the time Chat had finished his patrol, the sun had risen on the new day, and Chat knew it was time to stop and get some food. He had been rationing his supply recently, trying to avoid stores to keep his profile somewhat lower, but he knew that it was only a matter of time before he would be forced to become more and more public in his activities, especially when the money ran out.

Settling for yet another fruit and granola meal, Chat rested on top of a fire station room, looking out over Paris while he slowly munched on his breakfast. He mulled over everything that had happened over the past few days, thinking especially hard on how he was going to distract Ladybug from pursuing the still-missing Adrien Agreste.

“Chat!”

_Speak of the Devil._

Tensing slightly, Chat looked up to see Ladybug swinging over to his rooftop, landing with a soft thump. He bounced up to his feet automatically and bowed. “My Lady! I’m surprised to find you out so early today.” He said with a grin, using his smile to quickly conceal his thoughts. “Is something wrong? You don’t normally show up unless you’re out on patrol or there is an Akuma, and it’s not your patrol day.”  
Ladybug raised an eyebrow. “And what are you doing out so early yourself, Chat?” She asked, and Chat froze. “It’s not your patrol day either.”

“Well…” Chat trailed off, frantically trying to think of an excuse. “I was just feline like a run, that’s all.” He replied, putting emphasis on the pun in an attempt to distract her from the topic at hand.

“Uh huh.” She said, and Chat knew that it hadn’t worked out as well as he thought. “Either way, that’s not what I’m out here for.” She continued quickly, leaning up against a outcropping, looking over at Chat. “I’m here to see if you’ve heard anything else about Adrien being missing, since you’ve been in uniform far more than I have in the past week or so.”

“Nope, nothing. I’m sure we'll hear something soon enough though.” Chat replied, taking his own relaxed stance as well. “When I’m out patrolling, I keep an eye out, but neither of us have seen anything on patrol. If anything, I’m more worried about the recent lack of Akumas. It’s not like Hawkmoth to wait this long between attacks.”

Ladybug nodded. “I agree with you there. It’s strange.” She then focused her stare on Chat’s eyes, and he shivered slightly under their intensity. “But I’d also like to know why you’ve been running around as Chat all the time recently. There have been tons of people getting pictures of you everywhere over the past week, not to mention the fire, that you stupidly got involved in.”

Chat signed and shook his head. “The fire thing was dangerous, not stupid. I knew what I was getting into. As for everything else--”

“No! Chat, I don’t know why you thought that it was a good idea, or something that you should’ve gotten involved in, but it wasn’t!” Ladybug cut in, her voice passionate. “You’re not a firefighter. You’re Chat Noir, and you have your own job to do. Yes, we help people during Akuma attacks, but outside the magic doesn’t work. You know that. What if something had happened to you?”

Chat shrugged his shoulders. “I know it was dangerous, Ladybug, but I wasn’t going to just let that child die. Someone had to get to him, and I was the only one who could. I get that it was risky, but we do risky things on a daily basis.” He sighed, then looked away from her and out over the city. “And I already got yelled at by my Kwami about this, so if you’d just let it go I’d appreciate it.”

The duo stood there, an awkward silence filling the air between them, before Ladybug signed and took a step closer to Chat. “Look.” She said, Chat’s gaze returning to her face. “I was just worried, alright? You were apparently messed up by the smoke, and you are my partner Chat.” She walked over and stood next to Chat, gently resting her hand on his shoulder. “My friend. I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

Chat nodded slowly. “I’m sorry for worrying you.” He said honestly, but mentally berating himself for upsetting his lady. “I just did what I knew I had to do. And after seeing the kid’s family…” He trailed off, trying to control the surge of jealousy he still felt for the child.

_This is so wrong. I shouldn’t be jealous of someone I saved._

“Chat?” Ladybug asked, her voice wavering slightly. “You are ok right? You know that if something is wrong, you can talk to me about it.”

_No, you can’t. She doesn’t need to be bothered by your problems._ Chat thought, but his heart jumped slightly at her comment. _But that does imply that she’s somewhat concerned about me._

“I know.” He replied, shooting her a trademark grin to cover up everything else. “And I will if I ever need anything, but I’m fine for now, ok?”

He and Ladybug locked eyes for a few seconds, her’s searching his before she reluctantly nodded. “Just wanted to make sure you knew.” She finished.

“You’re the purr-fect partner, Ladybug.” Chat said with a more genuine grin, and Ladybug groaned, rolling her eyes at the pun. Chat smiled at her reaction, feeling a little bit better about everything. Just the return of even a bit of normality felt good to him, the peaceful morning almost glass-like with its beauty as the sun illuminated the city.

A piercing scream shattered the beautiful illusion a moment later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said, short chapter. Really short. I'll work on not having such short chapters. Sorta filler, sorta trying to set the stage for people to start realizing that not everything is all fine and dandy for Chat.
> 
> As for the posting schedule, I'm going to be realistic about it. My course load, while not heavy(only two classes), totals up to 14 credit hours. One of my classes is 12 credit hours. It is a lot of classroom and lab time, and a ton of physical exertion and training. This does mean that some days I might just end up doing homework and then sleeping to get ready for class the next day. I'll try to keep up writing on the weekends, but no promises. Hopefully it doesn't detract from the story at all(me being tired more), but we will see. If I end up having to delay chapters for more serious editing, I will. Just let me know what yall think.
> 
> Either way, hopefully everyone enjoyed this chapter, and as always, happy reading!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, lesson learned from the weekend: always make sure that your laptop charger is working BEFORE you decide to rely on it for all of your computer access for a weekend. Won't be making that mistake again.
> 
> Not going to lie, this chapter wasn't easy to write, namely for two reasons. One, I wasn't sure how I wanted to write the fight scene, but that slowly got easier as I just let the fight go. Two, trying to come up with the akuma was the hardest thing I've done for this story thus far in my opinion. I had literally no ideas, so once I finally had one I went with it. It'll probably be obvious what inspired it, but hey, I think it went well, and it was fun to write, so let me know what you think of it. It also doesn't help that I'm procrastinating on going to sleep with a test tomorrow, but hey, when you gotta write, you gotta write.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has been reading, leaving kudos, and hopefully enjoying this story. Special thanks to DBNY96 for your insight and suggestions to help improve the dialogue in the story. I tried to incorporate that better in this chapter, but it's not really dialogue heavy, so hopefully everything works for this one, and the suggestions will help improve further chapters that have more conversation as opposed to action.
> 
> I hope everyone enjoys this chapter of Flashover!

The scream hadn’t begun its second echo before Chat and Ladybug were both jumping off the rooftop, heading in the direction of the scream. The duo raced across the rooftops, wind whistling in their ears as they ran. Chat squinted his eyes, slightly blinding by the rising sun that just moments ago had been a source of beauty, instead of a factor to take into consideration for a fight.

_Here we go. Again. Least we know that Hawkmoth is still making moves against us._

Stopping on the ledge of a roof, the duo looked down to the city streets, quickly spotting their target. Chat sized him up quickly, blinking his eyes as he watched the the man snap his arm and wrist to one side, and the glass of a nearby storefront shattered with a loud crash. As the man drew his arm back across his body to snap the other way, Chat noticed the whip he held in his hand. 

“I will make the greatest finds in all of French history!” The man screamed, using his whip to smash out another storefront. “I am the Explorer! I will discover everything there is to know about the catacombs!”

_He’s certainly dressed like an explorer._ Chat thought. The Explorer was wearing mud stained jeans, and a brown coat, with a map case slung over his shoulder and hanging by his side. On his head he wore a dark brown fedora, which rested comfortably on his head. He stormed up the street, having not noticed Chat Noir or Ladybug, and the two quickly started their pursuit.

“What do you think?” Chat asked as they made their chase, trying to keep up with the Explorer as he ranted and destroyed everything on the way towards the nearest catacombs entrance.

“Well, for one, we’re going to have to stop him from getting into the catacombs. He could cause untold damage down there.” Ladybug replied, the two gaining on the Explorer. “As for the akuma, I’d guess it’s either in the hat or the the map case, but I’m not sure.”

Chat nodded. “Ok. If you figure it out, give me a heads up so I can help.” He said, picking his pace up a little more as he slowly pulled in front of Ladybug, rapidly closing the distance. As soon as he had the space, Chat jumped, using his baton to propel himself up and over the Explorer. He twisted in the air, landing and sliding backwards slightly before coming to a stop, knees bent and baton held in a ready stance. The Explorer stopped as soon as Chat appeared in front of him, a small smile appearing on his face. “Chat Noir.”

Chat relaxed his stance ever so slightly, but kept his guard up, ready for the next move. He didn’t know what Ladybug was doing specifically, but he trusted her to know what to do. She always did.

“I’d say you’re more of a destroyer than an explorer, wouldn’t you?” He taunted slightly, just wanting to get this fight started and over with. He watched as the Explorer’s face reddened at the remark.  
“I will make the greatest discoveries know to France!” He bellowed, the hand holding the whip drawing back into a windup. “And nobody, not even you, Chat Noir, will stop me!” He threw his arm forward, snapping his wrist in Chat’s direction, who quickly twisted out of the path of the whip. It impacted with a loud snap, chipping bits of pavement from the ground, sending shivers all over the area. The whip had come so close that Chat could hear the whistle of the air around it.

_Do not get hit by that thing._

Moving quickly, Chat closed the distance between himself and the Explorer, who tried to create space for another strike by backing up. Chat was faster, and he tried to sweep the Explorer’s legs out from under him, but he only managed to stumble him slightly. The Explorer countered by throwing a quick punch at Chat’s face, who ducked to avoid it and sprung up and back, boosting himself up onto a rooftop with his baton.

“Purr-haps we could do this the easy way for once?” He called back down to the Explorer, who glared up at him in return.

“Sure. Just give me your Miraculous and I’ll be on my way.” The Explorer replied, starting his windup for another strike with his whip.

Chat sighed and shook his head. “Sorry, that’s not going to happen.” He said, letting a playful tone flood his voice, the Explorer’s attention firmly locked on him. “But you could just give up whatever the Akuma has possessed, and we could call it even, mkay?”

“Never!” The Explorer raged, eyes narrowed. “Nobody believes that I can make any discovers, but I will make my mark on history! I will be remembered for discovering something in Paris!” As he began to swing his arm forward, Chat tensed and began to lean to his left, ready to dodge as soon as the whip was committed to it’s forward movement.

Ladybug’s yoyo suddenly wrapped itself around the Explorer’s throwing arm, jerking it to a sudden stop nearly halfway through the throw. The Explorer yelped in surprise, and Chat grinned across at the other rooftop where Ladybug was, pulling back on the string in an attempt to disable the Explorer’s attacking arm.

“Thanks, My Lady!” Chat called across the rooftops, adding in a slightly dramatic bow for addition effect. _Gotta keep up the appearances._

Ladybug scoffed slightly, but Chat could tell it wasn’t meant maliciously, and he knew that she had to be rolling her eyes. As Chat prepared to jump down and grab whatever item she needed, however, the Explorer let out an angry shout and heaved his arm down, twisting his back and shoulders down with the movement to maximize his strength.

Ladybug shrieked in surprise as she went flying off her rooftop towards the ground, the action catching her off guard and happening to quickly for her to counter.

“Ladybug!” Chat screamed, stunned still by the suddenness of it all. Ladybug went flying off the three story rooftop and slammed into the wall of the building across the street. She lay there stunned, unmoving, as the Explorer stood back up to his full height.

“Looks like I’ll be making my first big discovery without even entering the catacombs.” He said with a growl, and he began to stalk towards Ladybug.

Chat’s eyes narrowed at the movement, and in a flash he jumped off the rooftop, landing between the Explorer and Ladybug, assuming an aggressive stance. He felt a cold feeling rush through his chest, different than the one he normally felt, and a surge of energy washed over his body, settling in his limbs, a pit in his stomach as he extended his baton to the fighting length he was used to. “Take one more step.” He growled, his voice shaking slightly, his limbs quaking with energy. He heard the noise of something shift behind him, but refused to break eye contact with his approaching enemy.

The Explorer paused for a moment, Hawkmoth’s purple symbol appearing over his face as he communicated with his master. As he did that, Chat spared a quick glance over his shoulder, getting a small relief as he say Ladybug trying to get back to her feet, slightly dazed from the impact.

_Just gotta buy her a little longer._ Chat thought, his grip tightening on his baton. _I have to stay between her and him to stop him from using that whip, but I can’t let him strike me with it either._ As the purple mask began to fade, Chat tensed, knowing that this fight was not stacked in his favor.

_The price of the black cat._

Chat focused on the whip hand of the Explorer. Everything about the fight hinged on him being able to prevent that from being used properly. Failure would most likely mean himself, or worse, Ladybug, being seriously injured by the weapon. Chat shifted his footing slightly out of habit, preparing to stop the first attack from his opponent.

“Go for the hat.” Chat heard Ladybug groan from behind him, and he knew that she was at least back in the fight. Now all he had to do was get the hat.

As the Explorer swung his arm forward, Chat adjusted the angle of his baton to intercept the strike. As he felt the impact on his baton, on the left end, Chat grinned with satisfaction as the whip wrapped itself tightly around his own weapon. Moving with a sudden ferocity, he stepped forward with his right leg, pivoting his entire upper body to the left and striking out with his right arm, using the sudden taunt whip in the hand of his opponent to further speed up his strike. Even as he saw a counter-punch move toward his head, Chat adjusted the angle of strike, cleanly sweeping the hat up and off of the Explorer’s head.

Ignoring the sudden cry of “No!”, Chat continued his turn, twisting the baton downward so it was vertical, further trapping the whip around his own weapon. Knowing that he only had a few seconds until he was hit because of his position, Chat did the one thing he could do to protect Ladybug as she finished the fight.

“Cataclysm!”

Moving as fast as he could, Chat released his baton with his right hand, thrusting it out and managing to grab the whip just as his vision flashed white, a hard impact slamming into the back of his head. Chat suddenly found himself lying face first of the ground, his baton nowhere near him, his ears ringing. He tried to shake his head to clear it, hearing shouting and sounds of fighting behind himself, a strange wetness running down his face. Reaching up, he touched his face and then looked at his hands, and was slightly surprised to see blood covering them. He struggled to form a coherent thought, staring at his blood on his hands, desperate to get back into the fight but unable to force himself to do so.

Time seemed to stand still; Chat was suddenly aware that the sounds of fighting had stopped, and out of nowhere he was suddenly surrounded by a swarm of ladybugs. He felt a strange popping in his nose, and his vision flashed white and red before settling back into normal colors, his head quiet. The ringing had stopped. A flash of red suddenly landed right next to him, hands on his back and shaking him slightly.

“Chat! Chat, are you ok!” Ladybug said frantically, trying to assess how badly her partner was injured as he sat there on his knees. “Chat, talk to me. Come on, talk to me.”

Chat sat back with a slight groan. “Well, that plan wasn’t purr-fect, but it got the job done.” He said with a small grin, looking over at Ladybug, who let out a sigh of relief. She poked Chat in the chest suddenly, her expression changing from one of relief to anger. 

“Don’t you dare do something like that again!” She said, poking Chat several more times as he stood up and backed away slightly, trying to figure out what exactly he had done wrong. “You can’t just throw yourself away into danger like that every fight!”

_Better me than her._

“I could say the same to you, yah know.” Chat said, quickly giving Ladybug a once-over to make sure that she wasn’t hurt either. “You scared me half to death when he pulled you off that rooftop.”

She sighed in response. “I didn’t intend for that to happen. You intentionally put yourself into that situation to get the hat and destroy his whip. I could’ve handled getting the hat if he still had his weapon, Chat.”

Chat shrugged. “And what I did made it that much easier. Besides, it worked, everything is fixed up, and we’re ok. Nothing permanent happened.”

He watched her take a breath to say something more, but she was interrupted by both of their Miraculous beeping. Ladybug looked down at her feet for a second, and started to turn around, before she turned back and locked eyes with Chat. “Just promise me that next time, you won’t take that big a risk. We don’t know when I won’t be able to fix something, ok?” She asked, her voice almost sounding like she was pleading.

_Did I really scare her that badly?_ Chat thought regretfully as he looked at her expression. She looked terrified and relieved all at once, like she had been scared to death and then suddenly shown everything was ok. _I guess I did. God, I’m such an idiot._

More beeping interrupted his thoughts, but Chat knew that she was still waiting on him to respond. “I’ll think it through a little more next time.” He replied, and the look of thanks on her face at the reply calmed the rising anxiety in his chest at the hurt he had caused. He needed to get away before anything else happened, and before he de-transformed. “In the meantime, I’m feline a nap coming on, so I’ll have to see you later.” He finished, smiling as she groaned at his pun and shook her head. Chat jumped up onto the nearest rooftop and watched Ladybug depart in the opposite direction. He watched for a moment before his own ring’s beeping had his rushing for the nearest abandoned building. He need to find a place to rest, recharge, and think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Totally an Indiana Jones inspired Akuma there. If you caught it before now, it was pretty obvious, not going to lie. Like I said, it was pretty much the one idea that I had, so I took it and ran with it. If anyone has any ideas on how to come up with more creative/better akuma ideas, and you're willing to share the creative process, I'm all ears. I'm somewhat drained in the whole 'villan' aspect here.
> 
> The coming weeks in school might(shockingly) actually give me more time to write, rather than less, due to the topics being covered in all my classes. No promises; we all saw how that worked out this past weekend when I hinted at maybe being able to get two chapters out in a week. Going to have to knock on wood this time. Anyways, if you have any questions/comments/concerns/ideas/rants, feel free to leave a comment. I'm always interested to hear another perspective, and if you have any suggestions on how I can improve my writing, I'm willing to listen. The only time I'll debate something is if what is being comment on as a negative was something that was intentionally done for the story, in which case I might present my view just to see if there is a way to mesh the two views for a better effect. Not sure if my style is well developed enough for anything like that to be obvious yet.
> 
> Either way, hopefully everyone has a good week, and as always, happy reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah...late. Again. Time for another stream of consciousness notes section!
> 
> I'm sorry to those I kept waiting for the next chapter, I promise I'm not going to just up and disappear from this story. It's been a busy week at school. I sorta of got the Duty Officer assignment surprised on me as I had to cover down for someone missing, so I had to pick up a bunch of extra responsibility and adjust my schedule to fit that. For those interested, Duty Officer means that you're responsible for doing the morning roll call and inspection, handing out cleaning assignments, providing a 5 minute lesson related to the class topic of the day, and any other organization required for that days activities. That, combined with the topics covered, really stole most of my time from me. This chapter was written between homework assignments and class preparation, so I apologize if that shows with either some disjointed thoughts or the shortness of it. I wanted to get something out, and honestly I wasn't really sure where to take this chapter anyways, so it went the way it went. Sorta using it to setup further events that will be important for character development for everyone.
> 
> Anyways, I hope that everyone enjoys this chapter!

Chat had barely managed to get through the window of the next abandoned building before his transformation released. He reached out and caught Plagg, holding him as he shrugged his backpack off to open it. “Sorry about that fight there.” Adrien said, not looking at his Kwami as he opened the backpack and began to pull out some cheese for Plagg.

“How’s your head?” Plagg asked, slowly pulling himself up and floating over to the food Adrien offered. 

Adrien shrugged. “I’ve got a little bit of a headache still, but it’s alright.” He replied as Plagg devoured the cheese. “All things considered, it could’ve been far worse.”

“You’re right about that.” Plagg said, his voice quiet and serious. Adrien tensed slightly at the tone, worried about yet another incoming lecture. He watched silently as Plagg floated up to look him in the eyes, and was surprised to see pure concern there, rather than anger or frustration. “You got lucky kid. You can’t always take chances like that. I know why you did it, and it turned out ok, so I’m not upset over that, but you have to be more careful about these fights, alright?”

Adrien thought about it for a moment. While he didn’t know for sure, he figured that finding another chosen might be a process for Plagg, and not something he would want to go through again. At the same time, he knew that there were some things that he couldn’t just let go.

_If she’s in danger, I’ll throw myself into the way at a moment's notice. It’s a fight, and my job demands that I take the hits._

“Ok.” Adrien lied, nodding his pretend affirmation. “I’ll be more care about it.” He kept his eyes locked on Plagg’s, willing himself to carry the lie so he could avoid this conversation.

Plagg looked like he was torn between continuing the conversation for a moment, but then he dipped slightly and then rose, floating up into a nearby rafter. “I’m going to get some sleep.” He called down. “In the meantime, you should rest too, and figure out where we’re going to stay next.”

Adrien nodded, then sat against the wall, pulling out a pen and notebook. With a small sigh, he opened it to a blank page, leaning back and closing his eyes in thought. He twirled the pen though his fingers, clicking it on and off every so often. Settling into a familiar rhythm, he let his thoughts wander.

Adrien knew that he needed to get a message out. He had decided to write a note to everyone, at least saying that he was ok, but he didn’t know what he wanted to put into it, or who to write too. He knew he was going to write one to Nino; he had to let his bestfriend know that he was ok. After that, he had no idea.

_Not like anyone else would really…_ he let the thought trail off and blinked fiercely, forcing his emotions back down. He didn’t need to get all emotional when trying to write something like this.

Taking a breath to calm the slowly rising tension, Adrien held it for a moment and then let it out. Repeating the same process over and over, he felt himself calm down slightly, enough that he was sure that he would be able to continue working without having a breakdown. Adrien reached into his bag and pulled out a bag of pretzels he had bought from a vending machine as Chat, opening them and beginning to slowly munch on them.

_Amazing breakfast. Lunch. Whatever time it is_ He thought, slowly eating his way through the bag. His stomach grumbled when he finished, but he ignored it. Adrien knew he needed to get more food soon, and it needed to be something better than vending machines. He also knew that he couldn’t afford to go out as Adrien, and going as Chat would just keep raising suspicion and raise the attention focused on him. Shaking his head, Adrien pushed the thoughts of food aside and forced himself to focus back on the topic at hand.

_Ok. Nino gets one letter...I could send Chloe the other._ Adrien thought. _Even if she does end up going around bragging about it, It’d be someone else to tell that I’m alright._

After a few minutes of deliberation, Adrien picked up his pen and began to write. He decided to focus on Chloe’s letter first; He wanted to get base details lined up before he wrote to Nino. That letter wasn’t going to be easy to write. After what felt like ages, Adrien finally finished up the rough draft of his letter to Chloe. Standing up with a soft groan, Adrien stretched, feeling some of the tension in his legs and back release from the change in position. He walked across the attic, floor creaking beneath him as his feet thumped softly across the boards. He paced the room twice, letting his muscles enjoy the movement, before sitting back down. He picked up Chloe’s letter and began to read it over.

_Chloe,  
Sorry I left you like I did, but unfortunately I didn’t have much of a choice. I know our friendship has slipped over the years, and I just wanted to let you know that I didn’t intend for that to happen. I haven’t been kidnapped or hurt if you’re worried about that, but I just had to get away for a bit. I’m sure you of all people would understand that, given the lifestyle. I don’t know when I’ll be back, but when I am back, I’m planning on trying to fix some of the things that I’ve broken or lost. I know that you don’t approve of some of my other friends, but I’m hoping that you’ll be willing to atleast give me another chance, as the real me, and not as some puppet for my father. In any case, I just wanted to make sure that you knew that I was ok. I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t tell anyone that you got this letter. I don’t want anyone to start hunting for me even more than they already are._

_Your friend,  
Adrien._

After re-reading the letter, Adrien was satisfied. He knew that it might feel a bit cold or official, but at this point, that’s where he had let his friendship to Chloe slip, at least from his point of view. He had had to grow so distant to be Chat Noir, and some of her actions had annoyed him, but she had still tried to be his friend and he had pushed that away.

_Not like I deserve her anyways._

Moving on, he turned his thoughts to the letter he had to write to Nino. He knew that while he wouldn’t share the letter with any adults or anyone who could hunt him down, Nino would still share the letter with Alya. As a result, Adrien knew he had to be careful with what he put in the letter to avoid revealing anything. He took his time writing the letter, as it could be one of the last chances he had to talk to Nino in a long time.

_Nino,  
I’m sorry I up and disappeared. I know that you’ve probably been worried sick, and I’m sorry I took so long to contact you. I just wasn’t sure of the best way to do it, and I have to be careful because of what is going on._

_I’m going to have to ask you to not share this letter, or whats going on, with anyone other than Alya or Marinette. Those two are on that list simply because I know you can’t keep any secrets from Alya, and she and Marinette are best friends, so I feel they both have a right to know._

_To make a long story short, I ran away from home. My father was going to lock me away from everyone, and I refused to let that happen. Not again. Anyways, that’s where I’ve been, living where I can and doing what I can to stay hidden. Don’t panic, I’m not hurt and I’m not starving or anything, but I can’t afford to be caught right now. I’m not going back to my father. I can’t risk losing everyone, and especially after now, I wouldn’t be surprised if he sent me somewhere that I wouldn’t be able to get away from. As you now from what you’ve seen, our relationship isn’t the best._

As he wrote, Adrien felt more tension and anxiety leaving his body than he had felt in a long time. Surprised that just writing the letter seemed to be helping, he continued.

_Either way, that’s neither here nor there. I just wanted to make sure that you could stop worrying about me. I’m safe, and I’ll be alright. I’ll try and keep in contact with you if you want, but I’m not sure how possible that will be, given what’s going on._

_Thanks for being my friend for such a long time. I know that I wasn’t always the best friend, and I was often more busy than I wanted to be, but you made sure that life didn’t totally suck, especially at school._

_If everything cools off, I’ll try and visit you, if we can set something up where I won’t get caught. I’ll try and get another way to contact you as soon as I can, but if nothing comes up, don’t worry. I’m alright._

_Adrien_

He reviewed the letter a few more times, happy with how it sounded.

_Now to deliver it._

“Plagg?”

“Yeah?” The Kwami asked as he floated down to Adrien, hovering at his shoulder.

“Can you transform me? I want to deliver a few letters to let some people know I’m ok. Hopefully it’ll lessen some of the attention.” Adrien sadi, praying that Plagg would be ok with his plan.

“Sure.” Plagg replied, resting on Adrien’s shoulder. “I’m assuming that you made sure that you didn’t give anything away in the letters, right?”

Adrien nodded. “Nothing to give me away here, nor as Chat.” He stood up, setting the letter’s down on the windowsill. “Plagg, transform me.”

In a flash of light, Adrien transformed into Chat Noir. Putting the letters into his backpack, he slung it up and onto his back. Glancing out the window, he made sure that no-one was looking, and then jumped out the window and onto the nearby rooftops.

He dropped his letter for Chloe off first. It was an easy delivery; he simply slipped into her room via a window and left the letter on her desk. He hoped she would take the time to read it, but he wasn’t 100% sure. There was always a chance she might toss it thinking it was trash or something she didn’t need.

The trip to Nino’s house was harder. He desperately wanted to stop and speak to his friend, but he knew that he couldn’t afford to do that. It would put Nino at risk, being seen with Chat, and he would be far to tempted to reveal himself to him. He was grateful to see an open window at Nino’s room. Glancing in, he saw that Nino was missing, and he quietly slipped into the room.

Sneaking over to his desk, Adrien placed the letter on his keyboard and left just as quickly. Checking before leaving the room, Adrien made sure no one was looking before he left. He ran across the rooftops for a few minutes, before finally settling onto a rooftop across the street from the local mall.

Sitting down and leaning back against the sloped rooftop, Adrien closed his eyes and enjoyed the sun on his face. He knew that he needed to go and buy supplies, but at the same time, for now, he just wanted to enjoy the warm sun and the peaceful bliss it brought with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, as we've all seen, my schedule is a little erratic. I've been debating changing the schedule, but I will leave it up to you all; If you'd rather have shorter chapters at a more steady pace, I should be able to fit those into my schedule. If you'd rather have longer chapters, but a more random release schedule, then I'll keep doing what I'm doing now. If you have an opinion, just leave a comment.
> 
> Thank you to everyone for all your support. I honestly wasn't expecting it, as this was written to get some ideas out of my head. It will start to get more interesting, and away from what the norm is, so hopefully that ends up being interesting for everyone, rather than detrimental. Either way, I'll write and post as I'm able to. Things will also get closer to how they should go with this, as I learn more in my classes that I can apply in the story.
> 
> Hopefully everyone enjoyed the chapter, and as always, happy reading!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Never volunteer to be leadership for an academy style class. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson on that before now, but for some reason I haven't. Detailed notes at the end, but for now, I apologize for the lateness of this chapter, and hopefully everyone enjoys the chapter!

Chat’s eyes snapped open only a few minutes later to the cacophony of metal impacting something at a high speed. He bound up to his feet and dashed over to the edge of the rooftop, leaning over the parapet, the sound of a collision echoing up the sides of the buildings to the rooftop. His eyes widened as he saw the scene unfolding beneath him.

A single car had wrapped itself around a telephone pole, the skid marks telling the story of the accident. A woman stood in the street, staring at the wreck in shock, the car having just missed her. The car’s engine was dead, but Chat could already see fluids leaking from severed lines and tanks, creating a slowly growing pool around the vehicle. A couple of bystanders cautiously approached, but Chat saw more just standing there, not doing anything. He stood there himself, stunned for a few more seconds, before finally regaining his composure.

_No time like the present._ He thought as he jumped off the rooftop, using his staff to slow his fall. As he hit the ground, he ran over to the woman first, doing a visual glance up and down to make sure she wasn’t hurt. “Are you alright?” He asked, gently taking her arm when he saw no visible injuries.

“I just...he wasn’t there when I started to cross.” The woman said, her voice wavering. “He wasn’t there.”

Chat gently lead her from the street back to the sidewalk, and sat her down gently by another pole, away from the wrecked car. He turned to his right, pointing to a man who was standing there holding his phone. “You. Stay with her, and call 112.” Chat commanded, and the man nodded in response, quickly dialing the number as he knelt next to the shocked woman.

Chat moved to the car next. The vehicle had gone into the pole sideways as the driver had skidded trying to avoid the woman. The force of the impact had crushed the passenger side door in, and bent the car about halfway around the pole at the point of impact. Chat’s heart dropped into his stomach as he got closer, knowing that if anyone had been in the passenger’s seat, they would be dead. Hoping for the best, he got a little closer, and then called out, “Hey, is anyone awake in there?”

A soft groan answered him, and Chat felt a surge of hope. Glancing at the ever-growing pool of car fluids beneath the wreck, Chat was beginning to smell gasoline in the air.

_Not good._

Moving to the driver’s side door, Chat looked through the shattered window. He could see the airbag deployed, and it appeared that the driver had been wearing his seatbelt. Chat could see some blood running down the man’s face, but it wasn’t gushing out or bleeding that heavily. He was still breathing, but as Chat began to continue to look the man over, his body went cold.

Bright red blood spurted up and out of the man’s leg. Chat could already see that it had covered and soaked not only his pant legs, but the seat of the car as well. 

_That’s a lot of blood._

Chat stood there for a second, frozen, and then found himself moving, reaching out towards the car door. He could hear the wail of sirens in the distance, the steady low pitch-high pitch doooh-dooooh growing louder and louder as it closed the distance.

“Cataclysm!”

Chat touched the door, and it quickly disintegrated, melting away into nothingness.

_Five minutes. Let’s hope that they’re here sooner than that._

Chat looked around, desperate for something that he could use to at least slow the bleeding.

“Take this!” Another man had come up to stand by Chat, and had pulled off his jacket, handing it to the hero. Quickly snatching it from the man’s hands with a rushed “Thanks”, Chat bundled the jacket up and placed it over the injury and then dropped his weight onto it, applying as much pressure as he could to slow the bleed. All his attention was focused on applying as much pressure as he could. He found that he was holding himself up off the ground like he was doing a pushup, putting all of the body weight that he could onto his arms. He could see that some blood was still leaking out around the edges of his makeshift bandage, but it didn’t seem to be spurting like it had been.

After what felt like ages, but was really only a minute, Chat heard a bunch of movement behind him. Glancing back, he saw that the ambulance and engine had arrived, the paramedics and firefighters dismounting and grabbing their equipment. A few police officers had also arrived, and Chat randomly wondered if Sabrina’s father was there somewhere.

“What do you have, Chat Noir?” a voice asked.

Chat jolted out of his slight daze, looking up at a paramedic who was kneeling down next to him. The man was looking between Chat and the patient, but his voice didn’t betray any panic or worry. Chat felt strangely jealous of the man’s perfect calm, as he could still feel his heart thumping in his chest.

“I, uh…” Chat began, then paused. He took a breath to calm himself a bit, and began again. “I heard the crash from the rooftop. When I jumped down, I could see the man bleeding when I approached, and there was just so much blood...I just...I couldn’t..”

The paramedic nodded, reaching into his bag and pulling out a orange strap with a dial on it. “I need you to hold that pressure for about 30 more seconds for me.” He said, squeezing past Chat and beginning to put the strap around the man’s leg. Chat watched as he finished applying the strap, and then twisted the dial, drawing the strap incredibly tight around the leg. “Ok. You can release now.”

Chat dropped down to his knees first, before slowly standing up. He took a step back from the door, and the paramedic reached over and pulled the jacket away, while also reaching up and feeling around the man’s neck. Chat could see the rapid rise and fall of the man’s chest, but with whatever the paramedic had done, the leg wasn’t spurting blood anymore.

Chat heard another beep, and glanced down at his ring.

_Three minutes._

Chat turned and began to move away from the wreck. He could hear the paramedic and firefighters behind him discussing something about spinal precautions and jaws of life, but he wasn’t really processing it. Arms shaking slightly, Chat deployed his baton and jumped up onto the rooftop again, making yet another mad dash for the building he was calling his home.

Chat beat the timer by about 30 seconds, landing hard and dropped to his knees as he de-transformed. Sinking back onto his knees, he looked up at Plagg, who was hovering in front of his face, worry clear on his face. Lifting his arm up to reach for some food for Plagg, Adrien noticed just how badly his arm was shaking, and could feel a sudden tired feeling flood his body. He let out a shaky laugh, desperately trying to calm himself down.

“You good, kid?” Plagg asked, actually flying over to get his own cheese for once.

“I...I think so?” Adrien answered, but it was more of a question than a response. “I’m not hurt if that’s what you’re asking. I’m just….” He trailed off, his thoughts still moving at lightspeed. “There was so much blood there Plagg. All I could think of was stopping it. If I had been slower...what if I hadn’t been there at all Plagg? That man could have died.” He said it straight, like it was fact, because Adrien knew it was. Had he not done what he had done, that man would have likely bleed to death in that car.

“Kid.”

Adrien turned towards the serious voice. Plagg had floated back over to Adrien, and was sitting at eye level, his eyes staring into Adrien’s. When he was sure that he had Adrien’s attention, he continued, “Don’t dwell on it. Don’t think on the what ifs or could-have-beens. You did something, and that’s what matters.” Plagg paused for a moment, and then continued again. “For what it’s worth, Adrien...I’m proud of you.”

Adrien perked up slightly. “You’re...for..for helping?”

Plagg nodded, and Adrien could actually hear some of the pride in his voice as he spoke, “You stepped in and made sure that not only the woman was ok, but that help was on they way. Then, you walked up to the car and helped the man trapped inside. Was it dangerous, yes, but..you seem to have a good sense of what risks to take and which ones to avoid. I may not like all the times you put yourself in danger, Adrien, but you do it for a good reason.” Plagg moved over and settled down on Adrien’s shoulder. “You’d do amazing if you ever decided to do something like that for a living.”

Adrien smiled slightly at that, and adjusted his body position, leaning back against the wall. “Thanks Plagg, but I don’t think that this is for me. That was sort of a spur-of-the-moment kinda response, yah know?”

Plagg raised an eyebrow. “Does that include saving that kid from the fire?”

“Yes.” Adrien replied. “I was just trying to help.”

“Hmmm.” Plagg murmured, but didn’t say anything after that.

Adrien let the silence fall as well, the only sound Plagg’s soft munching as he ate his way through his meal. After a little bit, Adrien finally managed to drag his thoughts off of the accident, and onto his friends.

_I wonder if they’ve gotten the letters. If they cared._ He thought, and shifted slightly, making sure to not dislodge Plagg in the process. He knew it hadn’t been more than an hour since he had delivered them, but he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about everything that could happen.

_Will they go to the police? Not say anything? Tell each other? Oh god, what if Nino freaks out and goes around telling people that I had ran away? Oh god, if it gets back to my father he’ll be so so pissed. He’ll hunt me down and never let me free again and..and..and.._

Adrien tried to control his breathing, but it was too late. The anxiety surged over him, overwhelming him, and he lost track of time. Adrien wasn’t sure how long he sat there, curled up in a ball against the wall.

“Adrien...Adrien, come on kid. Breath. In and out. Yeah, just like that. In and out, nice deep breaths. There you go.”

Adrien returned to himself, hearing Plagg gently coaching him though his breathing. He was too relieved to be embarrassed by the event. He had always been so, so careful to try and limit his incidents around Plagg, because he didn’t want Plagg to seem him broken and go pick someone better to be Chat Noir.

“Sorry, Plagg.” Adrien mumbled, not looking up at his Kwami. He could feel his hand on his shoulder, but he was scared. He knew that Plagg was concerned, but he didn’t want to face him just yet. Not with everything that had just gone on.

_Worthless. All those people who got hurt today didn’t break down like that, so why did you? You weren’t even in danger._

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Adrien.” Plagg replied softly, patting his chosen’s shoulder gently. “You’ve been under a ton of stress recently. The fact that you’re even able to get out and still help people, and still be Chat, is amazing.”

_It’s the only thing keeping me going._ Adrien thought, but he just shrugged in response. “I can’t let the city down. I can’t let Ladybug down.”

He felt a few more pats, then saw Plagg float down so they were looking at one another. Adrien began to rhythmically tap his foot, trying to relax himself. He knew that his panic wasn’t stupid, but he felt like it was.

“You haven’t let anyone down, Adrien.” Plagg said softly, resting on Adrien’s knee. “You know that, right?”

_Except for my father. And my mother._ “I know.”

Plagg let out a small sigh, then floated back up into the space just above Adrien’s head. “Come on, let’s get you some food. You need to eat something.”

“Not hungry.” Adrien replied. His stomach growled it’s dissent moments later.

“This isn’t a debate.” Plagg replied, his tone clearly boding no argument. “You’re going to get up, transform, and go get some food. You’ve done far too much activity today already to go without eating a real meal. Spend of the of the money we have Adrien; if we start running out, we will find a way to get more.”

Adrien got up with a small sigh. He knew that Plagg was right, and when Plagg knew it too, Adrien knew there was no point in debating the issue. “Plagg...thanks. For just being here, yah know?”

Adrien swore that Plagg almost smiled sadly at him, but the look was gone in a flash. “Sure thing, Kid.” Plagg replied, as the two moved towards the window. “Now transform. You need food, and I need you to buy me more cheese.”  
Adrien laughed slightly at the comment. _That’s the Plagg I know._ “Fine, fine.” He replied, opening the window as looking out to make sure it was clear to depart. “Plagg, transform me!”

A flash of light later, Chat Noir was bounding across Paris’s rooftops towards the mall, the wind on his face. He smiled as his eyes watered slightly from the speed, feeling alive again once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I must apologize again for letting this chapter go so long. Class kicked my butt physically this past week(Search and Rescue is a very physical job), and a bunch of other stuff happened and I ended up getting sidetracked. Add to that HAZMAT reading for class this week, and I ended up not managing my time properly. Hopefully that won't happen again.  
> Anyways, onto my next point. Following the comments I got, I've decided to update more when I can write, in order to push out longer and more quality chapters. I also still want to be able to update everyone, so you all have some idea when a chapter might be getting released. The problem is, I don't want to do that in the chapters of the story, because I know how disappointed I get when I see a chapter count increase, only to see that it's an authors note. Not that it's a bad thing, but I don't want to be doing something like that on a regular basis with this story here. So, I've created a blog. Something I put off for a long time, and now that it serves a serious purpose, I'll be even more inclined to update it regularly. You can find it here: https://mrpotterwriting.wordpress.com/  
> As I've said, I'll simply be using the blog to keep everyone updated weekly, with either good news or news about chapter delays. Updates(when ready) will be announced there and then posted here. I'll also be using that to explain more about events in the story, or story direction in general, to free these notes up a bit more.  
> Hopefully everyone enjoyed this chapter. It's spawned some ideas that I will be considering carefully over the next week, as they will affect story length/duration, or even change the events of these stories as a whole. Either way, I hope that everyone has enjoyed this chapter, and as always, happy reading!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah. Don't every assume you will have free time, because then you end up with none for basically forever. I apologize for the great delay on this chapter; I hate leaving people hanging, but I've been busy, as well as having a bit of writers block on where to go with this. The story has shifted several times in my mind, and ultimately, I'm trying to decide just how I want to work this. I have two different ideas, but both of them end up having this get split into two separate consecutive stories, and I'm not sure I want to go that route just yet.
> 
> To answer the question in the comments about the Explorer - good thinking
> 
> Outside of that, I hope that everyone enjoys this chapter!

The next few days passed in a near blur for Adrien. He spent the majority of his time either patrolling, sleeping, or finding different places to stay. He knew that several theories had begun to develop about why Chat Noir was always moving around with a backpack, but nobody has struck gold yet. He had also managed to avoid a good portion of the media, generally choosing when he wanted to talk to them to keep them at ease. He had shown some favoritism towards Alya, but they were friends, and it was his choice with whom to interview with.

Plagg hadn’t been overly annoying. He kept on being his usually whiny self, but Adrien was pretty sure that he was just glad that he was feeling better. Adrien hadn’t had any major issues over the past few days, aside from sleep disturbed by some nightmares. He didn’t bother talking to Plagg about them; they weren’t that important, and it was up to him to deal with his own problems anyways.

As for his friends, Adrien had not checked on them since delivering the letters. He had seen Ladybug once on patrol, but she had mentioned that she was very busy with other stuff, so he had volunteered to handle the patrolling for a few days so she could catch up. She had gratefully agreed, and Chat hadn’t seen her since. As for Chloe and Nino, he had been to nervous to go check on them. He knew it was stupid, but he was worried that they wouldn’t have cared, and he didn’t want to subject himself to that disappointment.

“Adrien?”

Plagg’s voice cut into Adrien’s thoughts, and he started, surprised, turning away from the window to face Plagg, the setting sun casting a soft yellow glow throughout the attic space of the abandoned building they were in. “Yeah?” He asked, looking towards his Kwami as he floated above the desk, lazily looking back.

“Have you decided what the plan is for tonight?” Plagg asked, and when Adrien shrugged, he continued, “Because if you haven’t, you need to decide who you want to go see first: Chloe or Nino.”

Adrien sat up, shaking his head. “I think neither is the best option there.” He replied, keeping his voice as nonchalant as he could. “After all, there is plenty of patrolling to be done, plenty to do and see…”

“And none of it is making sure that you and your friends are all ok.” Plagg said firmly, and Adrien knew with a sinking feeling that this was one argument he wasn’t going to win. “You gave them those letters awhile ago, and they’re going to be worried sick. At the very least, you need to go talk to them as Chat. You can say Adrien asked you to check up on them, and then play it by ear from there. I’m sure that they’d be relieved to have some extra form of contact, outside the writing letters portion.” Pausing for a moment, Plagg tilted his head slightly, and then continued again. “Actually, make that three people you need to go see.”

“Who’s the third?” Adrien asked, confusion evident in his voice. “I only wrote letters to Chloe and Nino.”

“You’ll figure it out.” Was the only reply he got from Plagg, and Adrien knew that no amount of pestering would get him an answer that Plagg didn’t want to give. With a sigh, Adrien stood and stretched, feeling his muscles extend, releasing the tension of sitting for the past hour. “Since I know you’re not going to let this go, let’s just get this over with.” Adrien said as he turned and picked up his backpack, going through it to ensure that he had everything he needed. After making sure that he had everything he needed to relocate, Adrien got back to his feet and sighed. “Alright. Let’s go see Chloe first.” He walked over to the window and opened it, looking out at the sunset for a few moments before speaking. “Plagg, Transform me.”

One transformation sequence later, Chat Noir was bounding across rooftops, heading straight for Chloe’s house. He moved light on his feet, bounding and jumping, letting some of his stress bleed off as he fought down his nerves at this visit.

_What if she doesn’t care? What if she hates me?_ He thought as he ran, running over the worst scenarios over and over in his head. _What if she didn’t even bother to read the letter?_

Several minutes of running and worry later, Chat landed on the rooftop opposite Chloe’s house. Taking a few moments to catch his breath and calm himself, Chat studied the window across the street. The light was on inside the room, and the window was open, so he knew that he could land on the windowsill instead of having to balance outside or along the wall.

_At least that should make this quick._ Chat thought, and then he jumped.

Chat landed on the windowsill with a quiet thump, looking into the room to see a startled Chloe sitting up on her bed towards the window. “Chat Noir!” She gasped, shooting to her feet and quickly moving to the window. “Is everything alright? Where’s Ladybug?” She fumbled with her phone for a moment, then paused. “Oh, yeah. You can come in if you want.”

Chat smiled and stepped down off the windowsill. “Everything is alright, and it’s just me tonight. Ladybug is busy with other things.” He took a few steps into the room and then stood opposite from Chloe, who had sat back down on her bed. “I actually came here for another reason.”

_Please, please let her have read the letter. Please let her have._

“And that is?” she asked, looking up at Chat, questioning and evaluating him with her eyes.

Chat glanced down at his feet, took a breath, and looked back up at her. “I came to ask if you had gotten a letter from Adrien recently.”

Chloe’s eyes widened, and her mouth opened for a second before she closed it. “Do you know where he is?” She asked, trying to keep her voice calm. “Is he ok? What’s been going on? I’ve been so, so worried about him!” She stood up and nearly sprinted over to Chat, grabbing his arms. “Please tell me you know where he is! Does he have everything he needs? Tell me!” She pleaded, shaking his arms for emphasis. “He’s one of my only friends, I can’t afford to lose him!”

“Easy, easy!” Chat replied gently, grabbing her arms with his hands to stop the shaking, and glancing towards the door. Chloe was being louder than she needed to be, and he was worried that someone might come check on her if she kept this up.

_So she was worried. I’m...surprised? I guess I was wrong thinking I was just status to her...maybe? I just don’t know._

“Ok, look.” Chat locked eyes with Chloe. “I promise, I’ll answer as many of your questions as I can, ok? Yes, I know where Adrien is, and I was the one who delivered the letter a few days ago.” He glanced over at the door again, his ears twitching as he listened for the sound of someone, anyone, coming to the door. “But I need you to promise me that you’ll keep quiet, alright? We can’t have anyone hearing about this.”

Chloe nodded twice, and then released her grip on Chat’s arms, heading back towards and sitting down on her bed. “Sit.” She said, her voice returning to a quieter volume. “And don’t worry about anyone overhearing us; nobody is going to come check on me.” Chat walked over and sat down by Chloe, noticing the tone her voice took when she spoke. She sounded disappointed and alone, and he felt a pang of guilt. “So, is he ok?” Chloe asked, leaning back on her hands as she looked up at Chat.

“Yeah, he’s fine. I’ve been making sure he has a safe place to stay, and food to eat.” Chat replied, relaxing a bit as well. “Like I said, I also delivered the letters.”

“Did you read them?” Chloe asked, her voice more timid than normal, like she was unsure what to say next.

Chat nodded. _I wrote them._ he thought.

“So...you know what he said to me then, and how he feels.” Chloe sighed. “I knew that his relationship with his father was bad, but I didn’t know it was that bad. Has he talked with you about it at all?”

“A little bit, but not much. From what I got, he ran away because he was sick of being treated like he was nothing more than company property.” Chat replied, struggling to keep the bitterness from his voice.

_Keep it impersonal. Don’t let her know it’s you._

She sat back up, looking out towards the window. “I just wish he had talked to me about it.” Chloe said softly. “I know that he has no interest in me, and that it’s wrong of me to keep pushing myself on him, but...I just don’t want to lose him. He’s basically my only childhood friend, and when everyone else in the school hates you…” she trailed off, looking over at Chat. “I just don’t know what to do without him.”

Chat leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. “I’m sure he didn’t mean to hurt you by not telling you.” He began, choosing his words carefully. “He probably thought he was doing you a favor by not laboring you with his problems.” Before Chloe could cut in with a response, Chat continued, “But what has happened has happened. I can promise you though, you are still his friend, no matter what.” He said, his voice sincere, a promise delivered directly.

She nodded in response, looking away and breaking eye contact with Chat. He thought he heard her sniffle once or twice, but didn’t press the issue. It wasn’t his place to force her to talk if she didn’t want to. After a few moments of awkward silence, Chat felt a growing worry in his chest.

_Gotta go._

“I do have to finish patrol.” He said suddenly, shooting up to his feet and starting towards the window. “But if Adrien has any other messages to deliver-” _Which he will_ “-I’ll make sure to get them to you as fast as I can.”

“Wait!” Chloe called, shooting over to her desk and grabbing something. Rushing to Chat, she thrust an envelope into his hands, and Chat glanced down at it, surprised. It had his name on it. “Can you deliver this to him?” She asked. “I wasn’t sure how to get it to him, but now that I know how the letter got here…” she trailed off, uncertain.

Chat gently placed the letter into the backpack on his back and smiled at her, feeling a warmth spread through his chest. “Of course.” He replied, bowing to her, and then climbing up onto the windowsill. “I’ll see you around, and I’ll make sure that he writes again.” Chat said, and then he leaped from the window back onto the opposite roof. He didn’t look back as he started running across the rooftops.

_Time for the second stop._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully the dialogue worked for this chapter. I've been trying to be more consistent with improving it, but I'm worried that such a long break may have degraded the progress. Comments on the subject are appreciated.
> 
> This next chapter will most likely be a long one, as I plan on having it be a long heart-to-heart conversation, and if the mood ends up being right, perhaps a reveal? Only time will tell. What I do know is that this isn't going to be as short as I originally thought, as the move that I've delved into the character's minds, the more I've realized that I have far to much to explore to make this short.
> 
> Keeping these notes short, so I'll end this here. In the previous chapter I linked my blog, so if you want to have more detail/regular updates when I'm not posting here, that's the place to check. Either way, I hope everyone has had a good month, and as always, happy reading!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, first off, apologizes for the month long absence. More details will be in the end notes, but for now, here is the chapter!

Chat paced back and forth along the parapet, trying to calm his nerves. He knew that he really didn’t need to be this anxious, but he was. He knew that Nino wasn’t likely to be upset with his visit, but he also didn’t want to catch him at a bad time.

_And I don’t want to know if he’s upset._

Chat kept pacing for a few more minutes, running through each and every scenario in his head. He kept on coming to the conclusion that this was a very bad idea, but he knew that he couldn’t afford to skip out on it. Plagg wouldn’t let him. Summoning up the last bits of his courage, Chat lept across the final gap between the rooftop he was on and Nino’s balcony, landing on the ledge with a solid thump.

He heard a chair scrape against the floor inside, and then footsteps as he looked up to see Nino at the window, his eyes widening as he saw the superhero crouching on his balcony.

“Chat Noir!” He said, surprise flooding his voice. “I--is there something wrong? Another Akuma?” He asked, taking a careful step towards the window. “Do you--”

“No, nothing’s wrong.” Chat cut in quickly, dropping down off the ledge onto the proper part of the balcony. “At least, nothing related to an akuma.” He corrected, shifting his feet slightly as he tried to quell his screaming anxiety. “I’m here for a different reason.”

He watched Nino’s face is it processed what he was saying, and was surprised at how quickly he seemed to understand what was going on. “You’re here about Adrien.” Nino finally said, in a voice that was guarded, but held no hesitation. Turning back into his room, he gestured for Chat to follow, and he did. Nino sat down on the chair at his desk, and turned back around to face Chat, nodding towards the bed. “You can sit there, I’m sure you’re going to have plenty of questions to ask.”

Chat sat down, surprised. He hadn’t expected Nino to be so… _Protective? Concerned?_ he thought, trying to place the emotion that Nino was expressing. “I am here about that, yeah.” He replied, his leg bouncing for a few moments before he noticed and stopped himself from letting it bounce. _Not now. Calm._

Nino let out a sigh. “Police already came and talked to me for their part of the investigation.” He began, not looking at Chat. “I told them that I didn’t know anything. I mean, the Agreste family does probably have people that don’t like them, and it would be a way to get money, but…” He trailed off for a moment, and then continued, “but there hasn’t been a ransom demand or anything.” He still wasn’t looking Chat in the eye, and he felt a surge of warmth toward his friend.

 _He lied to cover for me. Hell, he’s lying to me right now, just because I asked him to not tell anyone._ Chat choked down the emotion building in his throat, clearing it twice to get a handle on himself. “So you’ve gotten nothing from him at all? No contact, never mentioned anything before he disappeared, just poof and gone?” he asked, already knowing the answer himself.

Looking up to lock eyes with Chat, Nino nodded. “Nothing. Suddenly he wasn’t in school, and I figured he was just busy. Him not answering his phone was strange, but once he was declared missing, it made much more sense.”

Chat nodded. _Well...wow. He really isn’t going to tell anyone._

“I take it you got the message from him then?” He asked, his tone shifting from a serious to a slightly more lighthearted tone. He felt himself begin to relax ever so slightly. He hadn’t needed to panic over this at all. He never needed too. Nino wasn’t going to betray him.

_And you’re such a shitty friend that you thought he would._

Before Chat could even come to terms with that thought, Nino’s voice cut into his thoughts like a knife. “Huh? What, uh, no, no, I haven’t gotten any message. Why would you say that? I just told you that I haven’t had any contact with him at all!” Nino’s reply was urgent and fast, delivered too quickly and Chat knew he was lying. Even if he hadn’t known himself already, the simple change in his tone and urgency would have been a dead giveaway. The look of shock, concern, and panic on Nino’s face grounded Chat. He had to make sure his friend was ok.

“Nino.” Chat said quietly, waiting for him to look at him again. When Nino finally did, Chat continued softly, “I’m the one who delivered the letter for him.”

Watching Nino’s face cycle through all the different states of shock was slightly amusing, and Chat found himself holding back a laugh despite the situation. He knew that he shouldn’t find the situation funny, but he did. The surprise on Nino’s face, followed by the shock and then relief as he slumped back slightly was just too funny to the tired, worn out superhero. After a few moments slumped back, Nino sat back up, looking like he was bursting with questions. “Is he ok!? Where is he staying?! Are you helping him get around? How did you even find him in the first place?”

Chat held up a hand, trying to stop the flurry of questions as he tried to determine how and what questions he wanted to answer. _And how many that can be safely answered._

“Slow it down.” Chat replied, stressing the slow part, and Nino quickly shut up, his attention completely focused on Chat Noir. Chat glanced across the room towards the door, waiting a few moments to make sure that nobody was going to check on Nino given the outburst. When he was sure that nobody was coming to check on Nino, he continued. “Yes, he’s ok, yes I’m helping him, and I can’t share where he is staying, mostly because he is moving around.” Chat sighed and sat back a bit, Nino still hanging on his every word. “I haven’t been able to find us a good place to stay for long.” He admitted, looking up at Nino. “Especially since it’s hard to find a place that’s safe enough for Adrien to spend the night by himself.”  
Nino nodded in response, thinking it all over. “Yeah, that’s true.” He agreed, looking Chat up and down once, his eyes thoughtful. Chat shifted slightly, letting his backpack slip off his back and onto the bed, rolling his shoulders as the weight lifted. He watched Nino’s eyes dart to the backpack and back to himself several times, before he leaned back, a look of slow realization appearing on his face. 

_Umm...huh?_

“You haven’t been able to find a good place for the both of you to stay huh?” Nino asked, glancing at the door himself for a moment before he returned his gaze to Chat.

“Yeah. Plenty of…” Chat trailed off as he processed what Nino had actually asked. “Wait, no, I mean, I haven’t been able to find a safe place for him to stay!” He tried to backtrack, but Nino was already shaking his head, and Chat knew that it was a lost cause.

_Shit._

“Chat...I’m not going to ask why you’re living with Adrien, especially since he’s run away from home.” Nino began, and it took nearly all of Chat’s self control to not run away, especially with all the panic surging forward yet again. “I just want you to know that I’m glad Adrien has somebody out there. I would help him myself if I could, but..” he trailed off, looking down at his feet. “I just...I don’t know what I could have done.” He said softly. “Adrien ran away from home, and I feel like somehow, it’s partially my fault. Like there is something I could have said or done. He didn’t even warn me before he disappeared.”

Chat didn’t know what to say, looking at the downcast Nino. He could still feel the tightness in his back and shoulders, but he also felt awful for having hurt Nino so badly. He was his closest friend, and he wasn’t supposed to hurt Nino like this. 

_That’s not what friends do._ He thought, trying to figure out what to say to fix the damage he had caused. _God, have I really hurt him this badly?_

“I just...promise me that you’ll make sure he stays safe, alright?” Nino asked, once again looking at Chat. “Adrien isn’t a child, but at the same time, he has been...sheltered by his father. I’m just worried that something might happen to him.”

_He cares more than my own father does._

Chat nodded. “It’s one of the reasons I’m staying with him.” He admitted, making sure to keep his tone from revealing the lie he was telling. “I just want to make sure that he’s safe while he’s on the streets with me. I can take care of myself, but...I’m used to this.”

The look Nino gave Chat surprised him. He thought he heard Nino mutter “You shouldn’t have to be.” as he glanced over at the door again, but he had no time to think it over as Nino looked back up at him. “I’m assuming that your family life is just as bad then?”

Chat nodded. “Mother is gone and my father is never around. Being on my own has been far more...liberating, lets say. At the very least, I’m eating far better.” He said with a small grin, jokingly flexing his muscles. “I think these are purr-fect for wooing the ladies.”

Nino snorted at the pun, grabbing a squishy ball off of his desk and tossing it at Chat jokingly, who batted it away one-handed. “No puns.” He said with a laugh, shaking his head. “But seriously.” He continued, looking up at Chat again, “If you ever need anything for yourself or Adrien, please, just ask. You both deserve better.”

_Debateable._

Chat nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He said quietly. The duo talked for awhile longer, before Chat finally noticed the time and stood up with a start. “I really do need to get going.” He said, slinging his backpack up onto his back. “It’s getting late, and I need to make sure that Adrien has settled into the next place we’re staying at.”

Nino nodded, standing up and walking over to the balcony with Chat. “Oh, yeah.” He said, resting his hand on Chat’s shoulder. “If you get a chance, you should go talk to Marinette Dupian-Cheng. She’s a friend of Adrien’s, and she’s been pretty worried about him. I told her about the letter, but I think it would mean a lot more if it came from you or Adrien.”

 _A friend? Wait, she considers me a friend?_ Chat fought down his confusion and nodded. “Will do then.” He said, before waving goodbye and leaping up off the balcony and onto the rooftops, where he started running in the direction of the bakery. He glanced back over his shoulder only once to see Nino watching him depart, before he turned back into his room and disappeared.

 _So Nino has kept the secret._ Chat thought as he ran, somewhat aimlessly, across the rooftops. _I’m glad I could trust him. Plagg was right._ He kept on running, the wind in his face helping him feel alive, the jumping, twisting, and sudden movement helping work the anxiety from his muscles. _But Marinette being worried? Considering me a friend? I never would have thought that she would be concerned, but if Nino wasn’t lying…_ His thoughts trailed off as he hit a particularly tricky section of rooftop, and he spent the next few seconds focused on his movements, darting over and around obstacles. With a final leap, he cleared the section and resumed his normal pace. _I guess I should go visit her then..but can I trust her to not tell anyone else? Nino trusted her enough, but I also told him that he could._

Struggling with the question, Chat ran across the rooftops, ignoring the calls and shouts below him, darting in and out of the light as fast as he could, trying to avoid having too many pictures taken of him. He normally wouldn’t mind, but he just didn’t want to deal with all the questions that were already likely being asked by far too many people. His thoughts still on Marinette, he quickly began to realize that there was only one way he could settle this burning feeling that we forming in his gut.

 _I guess that’s what Plagg meant when he said I had three people to visit_ Chat thought, a small smile creeping onto his face as he stopped and figured out where he was. _I wonder how he knew._ Once he knew where he was, Chat turned in the direction of the bakery again and started moving, this time heading that direction with a purpose in mind.

He finally came to a stop overlooking the Dupian-Cheng’s bakery, but he stayed on the rooftop for a minute, observing the area. He didn’t see much movement, and he knew that he was nearly invisible so long as he stayed out of the light, but he couldn’t shake the nervous feeling.

 _I just don’t know...I mean…_ Chat shook his head once, trying to clear it. _No. Nino said I should go visit, so I’m going to visit._

Taking a deep breath, Chat leaped across the street to the balcony, landing with a soft thump. He heard the sounds of someone jerking, a soft clatter as something feel to the ground. Bracing himself for yet another bombardment of worry and questions, Chat sat himself down on the railing, letting his legs dangle towards the floor of the balcony. He gave Marinette a friendly smile as she stepped onto the balcony. 

A range of emotions flashed across Marinette’s face, far to quickly for Chat to process what they were. “Chat Noir!” She said, her voice surprisingly controlled, especially compared to Nino and Chloe. “What brings you here? Is something wrong?” She frowned slightly, taking another step onto the balcony. “If something is wrong, have you contacted Ladybug? I doubt she’d want you out here on your own dealing with-”

Chat shook his head slightly as she began to speak. “No, nothing is wrong.” He gently cut in, still smiling at Marinette, but trying to calm the anxious energy building up in his chest. He began to unconsciously bounce his leg as he spoke. “I was just feline up for a stroll tonight.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “And the reason that brought you by my house is?” She asked, her glancing back down into her room before returning her attention to Chat. “I’m sure you have far more important things to be doing.”

Chat just shrugged in response. “I’ve been keeping my ear to the ground on some issues.” He began, debating just how much of the truth he should share with her. “Most recently, the whole incident with Adrien Agreste going missing.”

He thought he saw a flash of confusion on Marinette’s face, but it was gone, replaced by a look of curiosity. “Oh, really?” She asked, leaning against the railing a little bit away from Chat, looking over at him. “I’ve been following the case pretty closely, at least as best I can, but nobody has heard anything. He just...up and disappeared. I’ve been worried sick.” she admitted, and Chat felt a slight pang of regret again. 

_Did me disappearing really cause that many people problems? But...I thought nobody would care. At the very least, I thought they’d not be overly concerned outside of Nino, Ayla, and Chloe._ As much as he felt bad for it, he was actually really glad to hear that Marinette had been worried about him. _One more person who actually cares. Unlike father._ He forced the thought from his head; he didn’t need to damper the mood right now.

“Well.” Chat began slowly, looking from Marinette to the sky, and then back again. Swallowing his anxiety, he bottled it back up, trying to prevent it from interfering with what he needed to do. “Marinette, I’ve talked with Nino.”

Marinette locked eyes with Chat, searching for something, just as he was searching hers. He saw the spark of surprise, then confusion, and then realization. “So...he told you about the letter?” She asked, and Chat nodded in response.

“Yes.” Chat sighed, shifting his weight slightly so he was more comfortable on the railing, his backpack the counterweight that held himself upright. “I just wanted to stop by and let you know that I’ll be keeping an eye out.” He kept his eyes locked on hers, smiling slightly. “Nino told me you were worried.”

She nodded. “I was, but…” She trailed off, once again glancing back into her room before looking back up at him. “I guess if you’re going to be looking for him, he’ll be ok.”

Chat nodded. “I promise I won’t let anything bad happen to Adrien.”

_Not like I can totally keep that promise._

Marinette’s eyes suddenly narrowed, and Chat felt a wave of surprise run through him. _What’s she…_ The surprise turned to cold terror as he realized her eyes were on his backpack. _Shit._

“So.” She began, moving her gaze from the backpack to Chat’s face, who looked down at his feet to avoid eye contact. “Did you just come from school? Or is there another reason that you’re suddenly out all the time, and have this backpack with you?” Marinette asked, the accusation clear in her voice.

Chat couldn’t figure out if he should lie or tell the truth. Everything he was worried about suddenly overwhelmed him, and his leg began to bounce like crazy, his heart and mind racing faster and faster. He was aware of Marinette stepping towards him after a few moments, but he couldn’t move away. He felt himself being guided down off the railing to a sitting position, and her voice speaking, trying to communicate. Chat couldn’t focus.

_She knows. Oh god she knows, she knows, shit. I’m screwed. She knows she knowssheknows._

He didn’t know how long he was lost in his own mind again, but Chat slowly found himself breathing in rhythm with Marinette speaking, her voice a gently “In...hold..out.” over and over as Chat found himself in control again. He was exhausted, embarrassed, and worried. He had never broken down in front of anyone that badly(except for Plagg), especially as Chat, and he didn’t know what to do next.

“Chat, you with me now?” He heard her ask softly, and Chat realized that Marinette was sitting next to him, not to close, but enough that she could quietly talk to him. He just nodded in response, not trust his own words.

 _She knows._ He took another deep breath and let it out slowly. “Sorry.” Chat replied quietly. “I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

“Don’t apologize.” He heard her reply, and he looked over at her. Marinette’s concern was evident on her face, but she seemed hesitant, nervous even. “If anything, I should be apologizing for making you panic like that.”

Chat shook his head. “You didn’t know. You couldn’t.” He said softly, looking away from her and up at the sky. “It’s not your fault. I just need to have better control, that’s all.”

A hand fell on his shoulder, and he heard Marinette’s tone change suddenly as she spoke. “That’s not true. Chat, you shouldn’t have to bottle up your emotions like that. It’s not right.” He heard a soft sigh, the hand on his shoulder squeezing it gently. He didn’t know what to do at the contact, and was still trying to process everything. “Is this something that’s just...normal for you?”

_She sounds so guilty, like this is all her fault. Like she didn’t notice. Not like she could have._

“I mean...it happens now and again.” Chat lied, not wanting to worry her or upset her further. He tried to project the confidence in his voice, looking back over at Marinette, a bad pun coming to mind. He managed another smile, trying to be reassuring. “Normally it just happens when the purr-essure is too much, but it’s not that often.”

There was a soft groan at the pun, and Chat looked over at her to see Marinette looking up at the sky, but a small smile on her face as well at the pun.

 _That was close._  
“Look.” He heard her say, her gaze returning to him. “If you don’t want to talk about it, it’s fine, but..” She trailed off, took a deep breath, and continued. “Chat, are you living on the streets or something?”

_Of course I am._

“Ehh..I mean, define living on the streets.” Chat replied, trying to dodge the question while also debating if he should just come clean. “If you mean literally living on the streets, I must inform you that this cat spends the majority of his time on the rooftops.”

“Chat.” Her voice carried to slightly exasperated tone of someone who knew the question was being dodged. He knew that she would drop the subject if she asked, but he just didn’t know what to do, especially after the panic attack. She had apologized and everything, even though it hadn’t been her fault.

_I owe her honesty at the very least. At least on some things anyways._

“I’ve never really had a good home life.” Chat said quietly, looking away from her. “Recently...things went beyond what I was willing to deal with. I left. To directly answer the question, I’ve been living mostly on rooftops or in abandoned buildings that are as safe as they can be.” Looking over at her, he could tell that she was about to say something, so he cut her off before she could speak. “Look, I know that I shouldn’t have run away, but I couldn’t be around my father anymore. It just, I couldn’t...I…” he trailed off, choking down his emotions. _Don’t need another one. Not now._

Silence fell over the pair for a few moments, and then Chat felt another reassuring squeeze on his shoulder. “Do you need anything?” Marinette asked, her voice gently once more. “Food, a place to stay?”

Chat shook his head. “Not right now.” He replied, a small surge of warmth filling him as she offered. His stomach chose that moment to growl, and he winced, flushing slightly as Marinette gave him a knowing look. “I do have food, honest, but thank you.” He spared a glance around, night had well and truly fallen. He stood slowly, stretching to prepare his muscles for yet another journey. “You should go get some sleep.” He said, turning and selecting the first rooftop for his journey to his safehouse. He looked at Marinette, and could tell that she was reluctant to leave him, especially after all that had happened. “I promise that I’ll stop by again when I have more news about Adrien.” Chat said, hoping that would get her to leave him and go to sleep. She needed the rest.

“Or you could just stop by so you can talk.” She said, and Chat paused for a moment, stunned. 

“Wait, really?” He asked, unable to control his voice perfectly.

Marinette nodded. “You deserve to have somebody to talk to.” She continued as he thought that over. “Have you ever considered trying to talk to Ladybug about this? She is your partner after all.”

Chat just shook his head. “She doesn’t want to share civilian identities, and I don’t want to bother or burden her with my issues.” This time, he could clearly see the look of pain that crossed Marinette’s face, which just confused him, especially as she looked away, muttering to herself.

“Everything ok?” He asked, slightly worried, and Marinette looked back up, her face all concern once more.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She sighed. “I can’t force you, but...you should try talking to her. She’s your partner, and I’m sure she’d rather have you talk to her about these things than just keep it to yourself.”

Chat thought over it for a moment. _She had been worried after that last battle...no. She doesn’t need my issues._

“I’ll think about it.” He said, before smiling honestly at Marinette. “Sleep well.” he finished, and then lept up and off the rooftop, making a beeline for his safehouse. Plagg needed a break.

As soon as he arrived, he detransformed, letting an exhausted Plagg float over to the desk and collapse there. “Plagg...thank you.” Adrien said quietly and he pulled out food for his Kwami, walking over to the desk and dropping a huge portion on the desk next to Plagg.

“No...no problem kid.” Plagg replied, sounding tired but proud. “You needed to go see them, and I’m glad you did.” With that said, Plagg devoured the food and then immediately closed his eyes. Adrien watched him fall asleep almost instantly, before moving over and laying down on his own blanket, using his backpack as a pillow.

 _I still can’t believe how well that went with everyone. Especially Marinette...she really was concerned, and about me._ The same warmth he had felt then returned, relaxing him slightly. _I think I am going to head back there again in a few days._ Exhausted from the evening, Adrien’s thoughts quickly faded as he fell into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning, during his patrol, Adrien made sure to swing by the Dupian-Cheng’s, just to make sure that Marinette hadn’t been up all night and overslept.

He arrived on the balcony to see a bag of food waiting for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please forgive me for the long absence; hopefully this longer(ish?) chapter makes up for it!
> 
> So, school has literally been my life recently, especially with everything going on in my life. To sum it all up, not only am I taking my fire courses at my college for my associates degree, I'm also preparing to take the Columbus Civil Service Exam to try and get a position on the Columbus Fire Department. If I can get the job, I would literally be on my dream fire department as a firefighter, so I've been busy balancing my life out to make all this happen. Something had to give, and honestly, I needed time to think while writing this, especially since I've been working on another story idea as well. TL;DR - life been busy.
> 
> This month is my last month of school, but I also take the exam this month, so April is likely to be just as busy as March was. I will try and plan out a little more writing time, but officially I will just be writing and posting as I have time and finish chapters that are still(IMO) of a decent quality. I'm actually finishing this chapter up on about 3 hours of sleep, so hopefully I didn't botch any grammar or plot points to badly.
> 
> Lastly, at some point, I'll be attaching some of how my story and its universe work here in the notes, to help clarify some things that will(at least in this universe) make some of the characters actions make more sense, if they don't initially. I'll also answer any questions about things like that in the comments, so if you have any, ask away!
> 
> Anyways, hopefully everyone enjoyed this chapter. Like I mentioned in a previous chapter, I do have a blog that I generally post on once a week, so that's the best way to stay more up to date on my chapter progress if you have an interest in that. Either way, hopefully the next chapter doesn't take as long to write, and as always, happy reading!


	10. Authors Note [Will Be Removed]

Hey everyone. It's...been awhile. First, I apologize for disappearing for over half a year(I think) without any comment or word during that time. The long and short of it is life happened, then school happened, then the two together, and now finally on winter break i finally feel together enough to even attempt to start writing again. It has not been a fun time till now. Thankfully I've managed to get myself centered again, and I think I'm ready to start trying to write on a semi-regular basis again. It's not going to be all the time or like it was before(because paramedic school has to come first right now), but it'll be more than what it has been. Anyways, onto the request I'd like to make.

Right now, I'm looking for a beta reader for Flashover, and possibly any future works. I'd love for it to be someone from the comments, but I'm open to anybody throwing their hat in. If you're interested, just message me here or leave a comment and I'll get in touch with you. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

With that said, it's time for me to get back to work, picking this story back up and getting it going again. Hopefully everyone has had a good holiday season, and happy reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Well, that's it for the first chapter. Any questions, comments, critiques, leave them in the comments please. This chapter might be a little shaky exposition wise, but I was struggling with setting it up any other way, so I'll take any suggestions on how to better establish how the two year gap has changed Adrien. Outside that, hopefully you've enjoyed the first chapter, and hopefully I'll be able to get the next one out sooner rather than later.


End file.
